Spirituality

The One Minute Prayer

2025-03-18T00:48:00.003-07:00

One Minute Prayer

You never know when God is going to bless you! Good things happen when you least expect them to!

Dear Lord, I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you.

Prophet Samuel

2025-03-18T00:48:00.002-07:00

Prophet Samuel

The story of how Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt is a long one, and is full of adventures. Even after the people had reached the land of their ancestors, they could not live in peace, for they had to fight to gain control of their country. Gradually, they managed to spread our over the land of Canaan, building homes and farms for themselves. Even so, their neighbors, especially a group of people called the Philistines, were always a problem. But God was with the people, and in order to help them, He sent Samuel. This is the story of that man named Samuel.

In Ramah, not far from Jerusalem, there lived a man named Elkanah. He had two wives, which was not uncommon in those days; one named Peninnah, had children, but the other named Hannah, had none.

Each year the whole family went up to Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was placed, to offer sacrifices; and each year Hannah felt sadder and sadder because she had no children to take with her. Penninah was not kind about it and used to tease her, so much so that Hannah often wept.

One year Hannah went unhappily into the house of the Lord of Shiloh, and prayed to God that He would send her a son, “I will dedicate him to You for his whole life,” she said.

Eli, the old priest there, saw her distress and her lips moving, and thought at first that she must be drunk. But when he went up to her, Hannah told him of her trouble. “Go in peace,” said Eli, “and may God answer your prayer.”

God did. In due course Hannah had a fined baby boy, whom she named Samuel. As soon as he was old enough, Hannah fulfilled her promise and took him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. “Do you still remember me, Eli?” Hannah asked Eli. “This is the child whom God sent to me in answer to my prayer. I have brought him here to dedicate him to the Lord.”

So Samuel became a helper to old Eli, and Eli was very glad of his aid. He did have two sons of his own, but they were worthless and dishonest men who had no respect for God or His house.

Every year Hannah came and saw Samuel, and brought him a new robe; and God blessed her further by sending here three more sons and two daughters.

Time passed and Eli grew old and was almost blind. He slept in his own room in the Lord’s house, while Samuel slept near the Covenant Box in the Sanctuary.

One night, after Samuel had fallen asleep, he was suddenly awakened by a voice calling, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Thinking it was Eli, Samuel got up and ran to the old man. “Here I am,” Samuel said. “You called me.”

“No, I did not call you Samuel”. Eli said. “My son, just go back to bed and sleep again.”

Samuel obeyed, but before long he heard the voice again, “Samuel!”

Again he got up and ran to Eli, but Eli said, “I did not call, my son; go and lie down again.”

Samuel did so, and the voice called him a third time, and Samuel, feeling puzzled, went again to Eli. By now, Eli had begun to understand that it was the voice of God who was calling Samuel. So he said to the boy, “Go back and if you hear the voice again, say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening’.”

Samuel returned to bed, and sure enough, the voice called again, “Samuel! Samuel!”, and Samuel replied as Eli had told him. Then God gave Samuel a sad message. He told him that Eli’s family would have to suffer punishment because of the wickedness of Eli’s sons.

Samuel stayed in bed until morning, when he got up and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. At first he was afraid to tell Eli of God’s message, but Eli asked him, and Samuel told him everything.

Eli looked sad, but said, “He is the Lord, He will do what He knows is best.”

Samuel grew up to be a prophet, a fine man who preached God’s word. Not everyone listened, however; there were still many who worshipped idols and refused to obey God’s Laws.

One day, when Samuel as an old man, the people went to him and asked him to appoint a king over them. Samuel prayed to God for help.

Now, there lived a rich man named Kish, who was of the tribe of Benjamin, and he had a handsome son named Saul. Saul was a head taller than most other people, so he was easily noticed in a crowd. It so happened that Kish’s donkeys had wandered away and were lost; so Kish said to Saul, “Take one of the servants and go and look for those donkeys.”

Saul and the servant set off, and walked from about three days, but still they did not find the animals. Finally Saul said, “Let’s go back, or my father will worry about us, as well as the donkey.”

“Wait a moment,” said the servant. “There is a holy man living in this area; let us just see if he can help us.” So they set off for the town in which the holy man lived.

The holy man was none other than Samuel, and on the day before, God had told him that he would send a man whom Samuel was to anoint King of Israel. When Samuel saw Saul coming towards him, God said to him. “This is the man I am referring to.”

Saul went up to Samuel and asked where the holy man lived. “I am he,” said Samuel. “Come and eat with me; and don’t worry about the donkeys, for they have been found. The man the people of Israel had wanted so much are you?”

“But I belong to the smallest tribe in Israel---the tribe of Benjamin,” said Saul, “and my family is not very important.”

Samuel took Saul and his servant inside, where there were about thirty people, and they sat down to a meal. After this, Saul was given a bed for the night---up on the roof where it was cooler. Saul felt very puzzled.

Next morning, Saul and his servant were up early, ready to be on their way; Samuel went to the edge of the town with them. There he said, “Tell you servant to go on ahead.”

When the servant had gone, Samuel took a jar of oil and poured in on Saul’s head saying, “The Lord has anointed you to be ruler of his people Israel.” And he gave him a certain signs to prove it was true.

King Saul began his reign well, and although there were some people who did not at first respect him, when they found he was a good leader, they began to obey him. Later on, however, he became self-willed and arrogant, and did not live up to the high hopes which people had of him.

Before long, the Philistines were again assembling to fight the Israelites. They mustered a huge army of war chariots and horsemen and countless soldiers, and many of the Israelites were terrified and deserted Saul.

Samuel had told Saul to wait seven days for him to come, but Saul though he knew better and when he saw the people scattering from him, he began to offer a sacrifice without waiting for Samuel. As soon as he had finished, Samuel arrived. He was displeased and told Saul that this disobedience would cost him his kingship, and that God would find another man to become in his place.

The battles against the Philistines went on, but Saul did not continue to be a strong king, for he had disobeyed God’s commands.

Then God said to Samuel, “Take some oil and go to Bethlehem, to a man whose name is Jesse, for I have chosen one of his sons to be the next king.”

Samuel was rather worried about this. “How can I go there, My Lord?” he asked. If Saul hears about the message, he will surely kill me.”

“Take a calf with you,” said God, “and go there to offer sacrifice. Then I will show you what best thing you should do.”

Samuel did as God had instructed, and when the elders of the town came out to meet him, he invited then to join in the sacrifice.

When he saw Jesse and his family, he particularly noticed his son Eliab, and thought to himself, “Surely this is the man whom the Lord has chosen.”

But God said to Samuel, “Do not just look at his appearance or his height, because is not the man. I, the Lord, do not see as men see. Men look at the outward appearance, but I look at a man’s heart.”

Then Jesse brought out his son Abinadab, but Samuel knew that he was not the chosen one either.

Seven of Jesse’s sons came out to Samuel, but the Lord did not choose any of them. “Are all your sons already here? “Is there anyone else whom I have not seen?”” asked Samuel.

“There is only the youngest,” said Jesse, “but he is out looking after the sheep.”

“Send and fetch him,” said Samuel, “for we won’t start the sacrifice until he comes.”

So Jesse’s youngest son, David was brought in. He was a handsome youth, with beautiful eyes; and God said to Samuel, “This is the one I have chosen; anoint him.”

Samuel took a horn of oil and anointed David in front of his brothers who may have thought that this meant David would become Samuel’s follower, and in time became a prophet like himself. God’s spirit came to David on that day, and Samuel then returned to Ramah.

Meanwhile, evil forces had taken charge of Saul, who often became depressed and even violent. His servants thought it might help if he could be soothed with music, so they said, “give us the order, sir, and we will find someone who can play the harp. Then when the evil spirit torments you, the musician can play his harp and you will be all right again.” Saul agreed, and asked for a musician to be brought to court.

One of the servants had an idea. “There is a man named Jesse in Bethlehem,” he said, “and he has a son who is a good musician. He is also brave and handsome.”

“Go and bring him,” Saul ordered.

Messengers went to Jesse, and Jesse sent David to the king’s court, with gifts of a young goat, a donkey laden with bread, and a leather skin full of wine.

Saul liked David, and sent a message to Jesse to say how pleased he was with his son. From then on, whenever Saul felt tormented by the evil feelings, David was sent for and would bring his harp and play it; and Saul would soon feel better again.

http://posts.fanbox.com/z4s14

The Baby Moses In The Bulrushes

2025-03-18T00:48:00.001-07:00

The Baby Moses

Baby Moses found at the Nile River

Some years later, after Joseph had died, a new pharaoh came to rule over Egypt. By this time Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites, had been living in Egypt for many years, and there were now a great number of them.

The new pharaoh knew nothing about Joseph and all that he had done to save the people from starvation, and he said, “These Israelites are getting so many that they might join up with our enemies. We must find a way to suppress them.”

So the Egyptians put slave-drivers over the Israelites to make them work harder and harder, and they made them build store-cities for pharaoh. The more cruelty they were treated, however, the more the Israelites seemed to increase in numbers. The Egyptians grew to fear them and they made their lives miserable by being cruel and forcing them to work even more.

In the end Pharaoh issued an order that all baby boys born to the Israelites should be killed as soon as they were born. The nurses to whom this order was given refused to obey it, because they feared God, so finally the Pharaoh made an order to all the people saying that every new baby boy born to the Israelites should be drowned in the River Nile, but that they could let girls live.

Naturally the Hebrews were most unhappy about this law.

One family already had two children---a girl named Miriam and a boy named Aaron---and to them another baby boy was born. He was a fine baby, and the mother could not bear to see him drowned, so she managed to keep him hidden for three months.

As he grew bigger, the time came when she could hide him no longer, and so she and the family had to think of another plan. She made him a little basket from the bulrushes or reeds which grew at the side of the Nile and which were often used to make boats. Then she covered the basket with a tar-like substance to the river. There she hid the basket among the reeds which were growing at the water’s edge.

The baby sister, Miriam, waited a little distance away to see what would happen to her baby brother.

Presently, pharaoh daughter came down to the river to bathe, and as she and her servant walked along the riverbank, she suddenly spotted the basket in the reeds. She sent one of her slave-girls to fetch it. The girl brought it and when it was opened, the princes saw the baby boy. He began to cry and the princess felt sorry for him. “This is a Hebrew baby,” she said.

Then the sister Miriam had an idea. She ran forward from where she had been hiding and said, “Shall I go and ask one of the Hebrew women to come and look after him for you?”

“Yes, please do so,” answered pharaoh’s daughter, and clever Miriam hurried off and brought back her own mother.

“Take this baby and look after him for me,” said the princess, “and I will pay you for doing so.”

The baby’s mother was delighted to have her own baby back again, although she may have realized that the princess would want to keep him in due course, when he was older. However, in the meantime, the mother gladly took back her own baby to nurse him in safety.

Later, when the boy was older, she took him again to Pharaoh’s daughter, and the princess adopted him as her own son. “I drew him out of the water,” she said, “and so I will call him Moses. (The name Moses sounded rather like the Hebrew word meaning “to draw out”).

So Moses grew up as prince in pharaoh court, though he never forgot his own people.

When he was a young man, he went out to see how the Hebrews were living under the hard conditions of the Egyptians.

He was horrified when he happened to see an Egyptian kill one of the Hebrews. In his anger, Moses in his turn killed the Egyptian and buried his body in the sand. He thought no one had seen him, but that did not make his wrong-doing any better.

The next day, he went out again, and this time he saw two Hebrew men fighting. We went up to them and asked one of them, “Why are you fighting with one of your own countrymen?”

The man answered rudely, “Who made you a judge and ruler over us? Are you now going to kill me like you killed that Egyptian yesterday?”

Then Moses was frightened. “People know what I did,” he thought to himself.

His wicked deed reached the ears of pharaoh himself who thought that Moses deserved to be killed for what he had done. Moses was terrified and fled from the country, and went to live in the land of Midian. When reached there, he sat down by well, and at the same time the seven daughters of the priest of Midian, a man named Jethro, came down to draw water for their father’s sheep and goats. Some shepherds tried to drive them away, but Moses went to their rescue and saw that they got the water for their animals.

When they reached home, their father asked how it was that they were back early that day. “An Egyptian helped us,” they said. “He even helped us fetch water.”

“Why you left that man there?” asked Jethro. “Go back and invite him to come and have a meal with us,” he said hospitably.

So the girls went and brought Moses to their home. He agreed to live with them and helped to take care of Jethro’s sheep and goats. After a time, he married one of the daughters whose name was Zipporah.

Many years later the pharaoh of Egypt died, but the people of Israel were still suffering in their slavery, and they asked God to help them. God remembered the promises He had made to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, and He promised He would send someone to deliver them from their bondage.

The Fall Of Man

2025-03-18T00:48:00.000-07:00

Adam And Eve

Adam and Eve at the Garden of Eden

Now the snake was the most clever of all the wild animals the Lord God has made. One day the snake spoke to the woman. He said, “Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”

The woman answered the snake, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. But God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch it, or you will die’.”

But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die. God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree, you will learn about good and evil. Then you will be like God!”

The woman saw the tree was beautiful. She saw that its fruit was good to eat and that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruits and ate it. She also gave some of the fruit to her husband, and he ate it.

Then, it was as if the man’s and woman’s eyes were opened. They realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made something to cover themselves.

Then they heard the Lord God walking in the garden. This was during the cool part of the day. And the man and his wife hid from the Lord God among the trees in the garden. But the Lord God called to the man. The Lord said, “Where are you?”

The man answered, “I heard you walking in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked. So I hid.

God said to the man, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat the fruit from the tree? I commanded you not to eat from that tree.”

The man said, “You gave this woman to me. She gave me fruit from the tree. So I ate it.

Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What have you done?” She answered, “The snake tricked me. So I ate the fruit.”

The Lord God said to the snake, “Because you did this, a curse will be put on you. You will be cursed more than any tame animal or wild animal. You will crawl on your stomach, and you will eat dust all the days of your life. I will make you and that woman enemy to each other. Your descendants and her descendants will be enemies. He child will crush on your head. And you will bite his heel.”

Then God said to the woman, “I will cause you to have much trouble when you are pregnant. And when you give birth to children, you will have great pain. You will greatly desire your husband, but he will rule over you.”

Then God said to the man, “You listened to what your wife said. And you ate from the tree that I commanded you net to eat from. So I will put curse on the ground. You will have to work very hard for food. In pain you will eat is food all days of your life. The ground will produce thorns and weeds for you. And you will eat the plants of the field. You will sweat and work hard for your food. Later you will return to the ground. This is because you were taken form the ground. You are dust. And when you die, you will return to the dust.”

The man named his wife Eve. This is because she is the mother of everyone who ever lived.

The Lord God made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife. And so the Lord dressed them. Then the Lord God said, Look, the man has become like one of us. He knows good and evil. And now we must keep him from eating some of the fruit from the tree of life. If he does, he will live forever.” So the Lord God forced the man out of the garden of Eden. He had to work the ground he was taken from. Then God put angels on the east side of the garden. He also put a sword of fire there. It flashed around every direction. This kept people from getting to the tree of life.

(Pasugo, God’s Message: Quoted from Genesis 3:1-24, International Children’s Bible, New Century Version).

Isaac blesses Jacob

2025-03-18T00:47:00.006-07:00

Jacob Was Blessed

Isaac blesses Jacob

Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come closer so that I can touch you. Are you really Esau?” Jacob moved closed to his father, who felt him and said, “Your voice sounds like Jacob’s voice, but your arms feel like Esau’s arms.” He did not recognize Jacob, because his arms were hairy like Esau’s. He was about to give him his blessings, but asked again, “Are you really Esau?”

“I am,” he answered.

Isaac said, “Bring me some of the meat. After I eat it, I will give you my blessing.” Jacob brought it to him…

Then is father said to him, “Come closer and kiss me, son.” As he came up to kiss him, Isaac smelled his clothes---so he gave him his blessing. He said, “The pleasant smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed. May God give you dew from heaven and make your fields fertile!...May nations be your servant, and may peoples bow down before you. May you rule over all your relatives, and may your mother’s descendants bow down before your. May those who curse you be cursed, and may those who bless you be blessed.

Isaac finished giving his blessing, and as soon as Jacob left, his brother Esau came in from hunting. He also cooked some tasty food and took it to his father. He said, “Please father, sit up and eat some of the meat that I have brought you, so that you can give me your blessings.”

“Who are you?” Isaac asked. Your older son Esau,” he answered.

Isaac began to tremble and shake all over, and he asked, “Who was it, then, who killed an animal and brought it to me? I ate it just before you came. I gave him my final blessing, and so it is his forever.”

When Esau heard this, he cried out loudly and bitterly and said, “Give me your blessing also, father!...”

Isaac answered, I have already made him master over you, and I have made all his relatives his slaves… Now there is nothing that I can do for you, son!” Esau continued to plead with his father: “Do you have only one blessing, father? Bless me too, father!” He began to cry. Then Isaac said to him, “No dew from heaven for you. No fertile fields for you. You will live by your sword, but be your brother’s slave. Yet when you rebel, you will break away from his control.”.

(Pasugo, God’s Message: Quoted from Genesis 27:21-34, 37-40, Today’s English Version)

The Story Of David

2025-03-18T00:47:00.005-07:00

King David

David and King Saul

The fierce battles with the Philistines continues, and at last the Israelites and Philistine armies found themselves facing one another across the mountains with the Valley of Elah between them.

One morning there came out from the Philistine camp two men. The first was a soldier carrying a shield, but it was the man behind him who made the Israelites gasp with horror. He was an enormous giant of a man, nearly 10 feet tall, and dressed in a bronze javelin. His great thick spear had a wicked looking head of iron on it. The name of this giant was Goliath, and the Israelites trembled at the sight of him.

He stood and glared across at the ranks of the Israelites; then he roared across to them in a terrible voice, “What do you think you are all doing there lining up for battle? I am a Philistine and you are Saul’s slaves. Choose one of your numbers and send him to fight me! If he can kill me, then we will be your slaves; but if I win, then you shall be our slaves and serve us. I dare you to send somebody to do battle with me!”

The Israelites were terrified and did not dare send anybody. They were pretty sure who would win when they looked at Goliath! No one in their army could have a hoe of beating him; so nobody went out to see him.

Goliath continued to roar his challenge at them. Every morning and every evening for the next forty days he bellowed across at the Israelites. Saul and his arming were dismayed and felt more and more discouraged.

Now Jesse was too old to go and fight in Saul’s army, but his three eldest sons had gone---Eliab, Abinadab and third son whose name Shammah. David was still taking care of his father’s sheep.

One day Jesse said to David, “Go to your brothers in the army and take them some food---some roasted grain and loaves of bread. See how they are getting on, and bring back something to prove to me that they are well. Take ten cheeses for their commanding officer also.”

Early next morning, David got up, ready for his journey. He left someone else in charge of the sheep and set off with the food which his father had given him.

When he reached the camp, both armies were just preparing for battle. David handled the food to the officer in charge of supplies, and ran in among the soldiers to find his brothers. As he was chatting to them, Goliath came out for his twice-daily challenge to the Israelites, clanking his armor and roaring defiance. The Israelite soldiers were becoming worn down by this performance, and they ran away, trembling.

David asked the soldiers near him what it was all about and they said, “King Saul has promised a big reward to anyone who kills this giant, and he will also give his daughter to marry and free him of taxes.”

“Who is this heathen Philistine to dare to defy the army of the living God?” David scornfully said.

Some of the soldiers told Saul what David had said, and the king sent for him. “Your majesty,” said David. “I’ll volunteer to go and fight this giant. No one should feel afraid of him.”

“No, no,” said King Saul. You are just a mere boy. He’s been fighting soldier all his life.”

“But sir,” said David, “I look after my father’s sheep, and if a bear or a lion comes to seize a lamb, I rescue the lamb, and kill the bear or lion. I’ve killed many such, and I’ll kill this Philistine. The Lord has saved me from lions and bears, and He will save me from this Philistine.”

Saul was so impressed on what he witness. “All right,” he said, “you can go and try. You know, no one else has offered. You may wear my helmet and my armor. And God will be with you.”

When David was dressed in Saul’s armor, he found he could not walk in it; it was so heavy, and he was not used to wearing armor. So he took it all off and went to meet Goliath with only his stick and his sling. On the way picked up five smooth stones from the stream and put them in this shepherd’s bag.

As soon as Goliath saw who was coming to fight him, he laughed with scorn. “What’s the stick for, boy?” he shouted. Do you think that I am just a dog?”

David replied, “You are coming to me with might---your sword and spear and javelin. But I come to you in the name of the living God, the God of Israel whom you have defied. I will defeat you, and the whole world will know that Israel has a true God.”

With that, he ran towards Goliath, taking one of the stones from his bag. He aimed it straight at Goliath’s forehead, and it struck the giant who fell on his face on the ground. David ran over and, taking Goliath’s own sword from its sheath, he killed the giant.

When the Philistines saw what had happened to their champion, they turned and fled, hotly pursued by the Israelites who won a great victory.

After this great victory, David was taken into the presence of King Saul. While he was at the court, he met Saul’s son, Jonathan, and came to like him very much. A firm bond grew up between them and they swore eternal friendship. Saul treated David almost like another son, and David did so well in all the missions that he was given that Saul made him a commander in the army, and everyone was delighted with the news as David was very popular.

When the army returned home after their victory over the Philistine, the people danced and sang for joy. “Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands,” they cried. Now Saul did not like to hear this and he began to grow jealous of David. He even began to be afraid of his success. But the people all loved David because he was such a great leader.

In due time, David married Saul’s daughter, Michal; but Saul grew more and more moody and had many attacks of bitter jealousy against David for no reason at all.

One day Jonathan found out that Saul was actually plotting to kill David, so he warned David to go and hide. “I will talk to my father, and I will find out anything, I will tell you,” he said to David. They he went to his father, and reminded him of all the great things David had done. Saul listened and understand, and decided that David should not be killed. So David came out of hiding and served the king once more.

It was not for long, however; another time, Saul’s jealous mood returned, and he hurled a spear at David as he was playing the harp. David managed to dodge it and so was not hurt. That night Saul sent some men to David’s house to kill him; but David’s wife, Michal, heard of it, and let David down from a window so that he escaped. Then she took the figure of an idol from the house and put it in the bed, so that when the soldiers came looking for David, they were tricked and David was able to make his escape in the midst of the confusion.

Naturally, David grew very worried about these attempts on his life, and he asked Jonathan one day, “What have I done” What crime have I committed that makes your father want to kill me? I have always been his loyal servant.

Jonathan wanted to do all he could to help his friend and thought that his father would tell him what he was about to do; but David thought that as Saul knew he and Jonathan were friends, he would not tell Jonathan anything about his plots against David.

The next day was the Feast of the New Moon, and David was supposed to dine with the king. He decided not to go, but to hide in the fields instead. He said to Jonathan, “If your father notices that I am not there, tell him that I have gone to Bethlehem to attend the yearly sacrifice there for all the family. “If he says “All right”, then I’ll be safe. If, however, he is angry, then you will know that he plans some evil against me.”

Jonathan agreed to let David know what happened. Saul noticed David’s absence and asked Jonathan about it. When Jonathan said David had gone to Bethlehem, Saul flew into a rage and said “Bring him here immediately, for he must die!”

“But why?” asked Jonathan reasonably. “What wrong has he done with you?”

For an answer Saul threw his spear at Jonathan, but did not hurt him.

Jonathan was upset and ashamed of his father’s evil mood, and the next day he went out into the fields and let David know that he must flee and escape Saul’s anger. “God be with you,” said Jonathan to David. “The Lord God will be with us and our descendants for ever.”

For a long time there was war between Saul and his men and David and his followers. Yet on two occasions when he had a chance to kill Saul, David would not do so; no doubt he remembered that Saul had once treated him like a son, and moreover, had he not been anointed king by Samuel, acting one God’s instructions?

In the end, King Saul was killed in a battle against Philistine. Three of his sons were killed in the same battle, and one of them was Jonathan, David’s beloved friend.

Joseph Interprets the King’s Dreams

2025-03-18T00:47:00.004-07:00

Joseph The Dreams Interpreter

Joseph interprets the King's Dreams

When two full years had passed, the Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream. He was standing by the Nile River, when seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the river and began to feed on the grass. After them, there were seven other cows, ugly and gaunt. They came up out of the Nile River and stood on the bank. And those ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. The king woke up after this dream. He had another dream when the king fell asleep again. There were seven heads of grain, good and healthy which were growing on a single stalk. After them were another seven other heads of grains sprouted which were thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good and healthy full heads of grain. The king woke up again after this dream and he realized that he had only been dreaming. He was worried, so he called up all the magicians and wise men of Egypt in that morning. He has narrated his two dreams to the magicians and wise men, however no one could explain to him the meaning of his dreams.

The wine steward told the king: “Today I have done wrong and I must confess. Your highness, you were once angry with me your servant and the chief baker and you imprisoned both of us in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream in one same night, and each of our dreams has its own meaning. A young Hebrew, the slave of the captain of the guard was there with us that time. We narrated to him our dreams, and then he interpreted our dreams for us. All the things turned out exactly as what he said: you have restored me to my position, but you have executed the baker.”

The Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came into the king’s presence. The king said to Joseph, “I have had two dreams, and no one could ever explain them to me. I have been informed that you can interpret dream.”

“I cannot interpret that Your Majesty, but God will give a favorable interpretation.” Joseph answered to the king.

The Pharaoh said, “I dreamed that I was standing on the bank of the Nile, when seven cows, fat and sleek, came up out of the river and began feeding on the grass. Then seven other cows came up which were ugly and gaunt. They were the ugliest cows I have seen in the entire land of Egypt. The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the fat ones, but no one could have known it, because they looked just as bad as before. Then I woke up again after that dream. I also dreamed that I saw seven heads of grain, good and healthy, growing on one stalk. Then seven heads of grains grain sprouted; thin and scorched by the east wind, and the thin heads of grain swallowed good and healthy full heads of grain. I informed the magicians about these dreams, but none of them could explain them to me.”

Joseph said to the Pharaoh, “The two dreams mean the same thing; God has told you what he is going to do. The seven fat cows represent the seven years, and the seven full heads of grain are also seven years; they all have same meaning. The seven thin cows which came up later and the seven thin heads of grains scorched by the desert wind on the other hand represent the seven years of famine. God has shown to you what he is going to do, just like what I have told you. There will be seven years of great abundance all over the land of Egypt. There will be seven years of famine after that and all the good years will be forgotten, because the famine will ruin the country. The years of abundance will be totally forgotten, because the famine which follows will be so terrible. The recurrence of your dream means that the matter has already been fixed by God and He will make things happen in the near future.

“And now the Pharaoh should choose some man with wisdom and insight and put him in charge of the country. During the seven years of plenty harvest you must also appoint other officials and take a fifth of the crops. During the good years that are coming, you have to order them to collect all the food and give them authority to store up grains in the cities but have them guarded. The foods that were stored will be reserve supply for the country during the seven years of famine which are going to come on Egypt. The people will not starve in this way.”

(Quoted from Genesis 41: 1-36, Today’s English Version & New International Version)

The Ten Commandments

2025-03-18T00:47:00.003-07:00

The Ten Commandments

Moses with the Ten Commandments

http://posts.fanbox.com/g4s14

Under God’s guidance, Moses led the people on, away from the Red Sea, and across a great stretch of desert called the Wilderness of Shur. The land was hot, dry and barren, full of sand dunes, scrubland and rocks, and with hardly any water. When they had been traveling from three days, the Israelites became very thirsty and were delighted when they found water at a place called Marah. When they drink it, however, they found it very bitter. “What are we going to drink?” they grumbled to Moses.

Moses prayed to God, and God showed him a tree whose bark and leaves are able to sweeten bitter water. Moses threw some of this into the water, and the water became fit to drink.

From Marah, the Israelites moved on to Elim, where they found twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and here they were able to camp and rest for a while. They could not stay long, however, for they had to continue their journey, and soon they were grumbling again.

“We’re hungry,” the people complained. “At least we had food in Egypt, but now you have brought us here we shall all starve to death.”

God told Moses, “I shall send food for you. Each day the people must go out and gather enough for one day. On the sixth day of the week, they are to gather twice as much as usual.”

That evening a large flock of little brown birds called quail flew in the Israelites’ camp; and the people found that their flesh was good to eat.

In the morning, when the dew had gone, the ground was covered with a thin flaky substance, like small white seeds, and as delicate as hoar-frost.

“Manna?” asked the Israelites, which means, “What is it?” and so “manna” became its name.

Moses said, “This is the food which God has provided. You are each to gather as much as you need for the day, but no extra.

Manna from Heaven

The Israelites began gathering, and some gathered more and some less; but it made no difference. Those who had gather more found that they did not have too much; and those who had gathered little found that there was enough for their needs. Any which was left on the ground melted in the heat of the sun by midday. In spite of Moses’ order, some people tried to save some for the next day, but found that it rotted overnight.

Only on the sixth day of the week could they gather twice as much as usual and then it did not go bad; for the seventh day, the Sabbath day, was their day of rest, and they were not to gather food on that day. Though some people did go out looking for the manna on the seventh day, there was none to be found. God said to Moses, “How much longer will the people disobey My commands? Remember that I gave you a day of rest, and that is why I will always provide twice the amount of food on the sixth day. On the seventh day they must stay at home.”

God continued to provide manna for the Israelites for the whole of the next forty years until they reached the land of Canaan.

Food was one thing difficult to find in the dessert, but, as the Israelites had already discovered, water was another. As they moved on, they again grumbled to Moses that they were thirsty.

“Why do you keep complaining like this?” asked Moses.

Once again the people said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt to this miserable place? Must we all die of thirst?” and they grew very angry.

“What can I do with them?” Moses asked God.

“Take some of the leaders and go on ahead of the people,” said God. “Carry your rod. I will stand before you on a rock on Mount Sinai. Speak to the rock and water will flow out from it.”

Moses went as the Lord had said, but he was so angry with the people that instead of just speaking to the rock, as he had been told, he struck it with is stuff. A stream of water flowed out, just the same, and the people and animals were able to quench their thirst. But Moses had not obeyed God and so God told him that he would not be the one to lead the people into the promised land.

By now the Israelites had crossed much desert land and had come to the foot of Mount Sinai. From the mountain God called Moses and said, “Tell the people that I have said these words, ‘You saw what happened to the Egyptians and how I have keep My covenant, you will be My chosen people, dedicated to Me alone.”

When the people heard this they replied, ”We will do all that the Lord has said.”

God then told Moses that the people were to make themselves ready for worship and were to put on clean clothes, for He Himself would come down on Mount Sinai. Moses was to put boundary round the mountain, and the people were not to cross it, or even go near it until they heard a trumpet sounding a long blast.

The people made themselves ready as instructed. On the third day, there was thunder and lightning and thick cloud on the mountain, which indicated God’s power and presence, and a loud blast was heard on a trumpet. All people trembled with fear. Moses led them to the foot of the mountain, which was wrapped in fire and smoke and shook as if there was an earthquake.

Then God called to Moses alone to go to the top of the mountain; and Moses went up and was lost in view in the cloud. He remained up there for forty days.

While Moses was on the mountain, God gave him the laws by which the Israelites were to live. Among these laws were those which are known as the Ten Commandments, which were written on two tablets of stones by God Himself.

Mount Puting Bato

These are the Ten Commandments:

1.You shall have no other gods before me.

2.You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to it or serve it.

3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a day dedicated to the Lord your God; on it no one shall do any work. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore He blessed the Sabbath and made it holy.

5. Honor your father and your mother.

6. You shall not kill.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness (tell lies) against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet (long posses) your neighbor’s house or wife, or his manservant, of his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Moses as away for such a long time and the people grew tired of waiting. They gathered around his brother Aaron and said, “We don’t know what has become of Moses, and we can’t wait any longer. Let us make a god of our own.”

Aaron, on this occasion, was not firm, and he said to the people. “Take off the gold earrings which you are wearing and give them to me.”

They did so, and Aaron took the huge pile of earrings, melted them down, and shaped the gold in a golden calf. Forgetting all about the one true God, the people looked at the golden calf and said, “This is the god who led us out of Egypt.”

Aaron built an altar before it, and declared that the next day was to be a festival to the Lord. Perhaps he, too, thought it represented the true God, though he should have known better.

Early on the next day, the people brought animals for offerings and they had a great feast.

High up on the mountain God said to Moses, “You must go down to the people, for they have already forgotten the way I commanded them, and they have made a calf of melted gold and are worshipping that. I am very angry with them.”

So Moses set off back down the mountain, carrying the two stone tablets on which God had written the Ten Commandments. As he was getting near the foot of the mountain, he could hear shouting and noise coming from the people. When he came close enough he saw that they were dancing round the golden calf, and he was so furious that he threw down the tablets and thy broke.

He seized the golden calf, melted it and ground what remained to powder. Then he scattered the powder upon the water and made the Israelites drink it as a symbol of their shame and regret.

The next day he went back to God and asked His forgiveness for the sin which the people had committed in worshipping the golden calf. At God’s command, he also cut two more tablets of stones, and God gave him the laws again. As a token that they were forgiven, God renewed His promise, or covenant, to the people.

Noah And The Great Flood

2025-03-18T00:47:00.002-07:00

Noah During The Great Flood

The Dove returned to Noah with a olive leaf

Long after Adam’s time, when the world was full of people, God saw what a wicked and evil place it had become. He was sad. He felt sorry He had made such a beautiful world, filled with wonderful living creatures, if people were going to spoil it all by their wickedness.

However, there was one man with whom God was very pleased. He was a good man and his thoughts and deeds were noble and right. His name was Noah.

One day God said to Noah, “I have decided that this evil on earth cannot continue. A new start must be made; therefore a great flood will come which will destroy the wicked. Build yourself a boat---an ark---out of good timber; cover it with tar both inside and out, and make rooms inside it and a roof over it. Make three decks and put a door in the side. Then, when the flood comes, you and your wife and your sons and their wives will all be safe in the boat.”

Probably Noah found this news rather startling, but he knew that he must do a God had said. He told his three sons; name Shem, Ham and Japheth, that they would have to help him with the building of his big boat so that it would be ready in time.

God had told him to make it 146 yards long, 24 yards wide, and 42 feet high. Moreover, as well as taking all the Noah family into the ark, God said that Noah was also to take of every kind of living creatures---birds, animals and creeping things---in order to keep them alive, and there was to be male and a female of each so that they would be able to reproduce again on the earth when the floods had gone, for there would be nothing else left alive.

Lastly God reminded Noah, “Take all kinds of foods with you in the ark, both of you and for all the living creatures, for in seven days’ time the rain will start, and it will rain for forty days and forty nights without stopping and you will not be able to leave the ark.”

Noah did everything exactly as God had told him.

With the building of the ark finished, Noah had a thoroughly waterproof new home. Then he and his family began to round up all the animals and birds and insects and reptiles, as God had directed, and together they all went into the ark. Lastly Noah and his wife, Shem, Ham and Japheth and their wives went into the ark themselves, and the door was firmly closed behind them. Then they settled down to watch the weather and wait for the promised rain. No doubt their actions were viewed with great amusement by those who saw the building of the ark. However, Noah’s faith in God was justified.

Seven days later, just as God had said, it began to rain; and it rained in torrents, never stopping, for forty whole days and forty whole nights. The water rose higher and higher, and the floods covered the whole earth, drowning every living things. There was nothing left alive in the whole world except Noah, his wife and the animals in his keeping.

Noah looked out upon the world he had known, and could see nothing but water, no matter which way he looked. All the land and the trees and the places where people had lived were covered. Everything was being swamped by the flood waters. But God had promised Noah that he and his family would be saved, and Noah knew that God could be trusted.

The water was now deep enough for the ark to float, ad as it became even deeper, the ark began to drift about on the surface.

Noah could not tell where they were, for the floods had risen so high that they had covered every part of the land. They went on rising so much that soon they were seven and half yards above the tops of the highest mountains. There was nothing to be seen in any direction except water.

And they stayed like that for 150 days and nights. It must have seemed a very long time.

Then a great wind began to blow, and at last the waters started to go down. The rains stopped and gradually, for another 150 days the waters began to go lower and lower. The ark stopped rocking to and fro, and at last it came to rest on a mountain called Ararat.

The waters continued to go down and one day, when Noah looked out he found that he could see tops of other mountains.

Noah waited for another forty days, then he opened the window in the ark and let a raven fly out. It flew around for a while and then flew away and did not come back.

Next Noah sent out a dove to see if the flood waters had gone down, but the dove could not find anywhere to the land and, after a while, it flew back to the ark. Noah reached out his hand and lifted it in through the window.

He waited for another week; then he sent the dove our again.

On the evening of that day it came back and, in its beak, held a fresh olive leaf. Now, Noah knew that somewhere the water had gone down far enough for the trees to be appearing again.

He waited one more week before he sent out the dove again. Out it flew, round and round, and out of sight. This time it did not return, and Noah knew that it must have found somewhere to settle among trees.

A little time later, Noah was able to look out of the ark and to see that the ground was becoming drier. In the time it became completely dry and the waters disappeared.

Then God said to Noah, “You may now leave the boat. Take your wife with you, and your sons and their wives, and all the birds and animals, so that they can settle on the earth and start having families again to replace all those that were drowned in the great flood.”

So out came Noah and his family and all living creatures whom God had preserved during the great flood. The first thing Noah did was to take some stones and build an altar to God, to offer a sacrifice upon it and thank Him for keeping them safe.

God was pleased and said, “Never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done this time. As long as there is a world, summer and winter, day and night, and they shall not cease,” and as He promised, all these things have gone on ever since.

As a sign of His promised to Noah, God said, “I have out a rainbow in the cloud. Whenever the sky is cloudy and a rainbow appear, I will remember my promised to you and to all living creatures, that a flood will never again destroy all that live on the earth.”

The Garden Of Eden

2025-03-18T00:47:00.001-07:00

Adam And Eve At Eden

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden

Long, long ago, in the very beginning of time, there was God.

There was no shape to the earth then, and total darkness and raging waters covered everything. Everywhere was waster and empty until God set about creating the world. He said “Let there be light” and then the light came. God divided the light from the dark, and He called the light “Day” and the darkness “Night”. Evening and morning came, and that was the first day.

Then God made the sky, like a great dome. Evening and morning came, and that was all done in the second day.

Next God made the earth. He ordered the waters below the sky to come together, and so it happened. He named the waters “Seas” and the dry land which was left He named “Earth”, and He was pleased with what He saw. Then he ordered all kinds of plants to grow upon the earth---plants which bore grain and plants which bore fruits and plants with flowers. Evening and morning came, and that was the end of the third day.

Then God ordered great shining lights to appear in the sky. The two largest lights were he “Sun” and the “Moon”; the sun was to rule over the day; and the moon over the night. The smaller lights were the stars, including planets, comets and meteors. Evening and morning came, and so ended the fourth day.

However, there were as yet no living creatures in it. So the next day, God made fish and birds. He filled the waters with all kinds of fish, from enormous sea-monsters and whales down to the tiniest minnows and sticklebacks.

In the air, He put all kinds of birds, from great eagles to tiny wrens and linnets. The sea and the skies were now full of beautiful creatures. God was pleased with what He saw and He blessed all the living things He had made. When evening and morning had passed, that was the fifth day.

Then God said, “Let the earth produce all kinds of animals.” He made a wonderful variety of creatures to live in the world; there were enormous beasts, like elephants, giraffes and rhinoceros, and tiny moles and mice, shrews and spiders.

Then God said, “I will make human beings, who will be something like me. They will take care of the fishes, the birds and the animals, and all creatures which move in the sea and the sky, and on the earth.”

So next He made a man, and breathed life-giving breath into him, and the man became a living soul. God named the man as Adam. God blessed him and placed him in the east of the world, in the beautiful Garden of Eden.

“You must have many children,” God said, “so that they will grow and live all over the earth and look after it. You and they will be in charge of the fishes, the birds and the animals.

Out of the ground God made grass and trees grow, and leafy plants for animals and birds to eat; and He provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruits for people to eat---so that none would go hungry.

He looked at everything He had made and was pleased. Evening and morning came and that was the sixth day.

Now the universe was finished. God had completed His wonderful and flawless work.

So He stopped creating, and on the seventh day He rested. Then He blessed this seventh day and set it apart, and ever since then one day in seven has been a special day for people to rest from their work.

In the Garden of Eden, there grew all sorts of beautiful tress which bore good fruit. A stream flowed through the garden to water it and, beyond Eden, this divided into four rivers; they were called Pishon, the Gihon, the Tigris and the Euphrates.

There were also special trees in the middle of the garden. It called was the Tree of Life and the other one was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

When God put Adam in the Garden of Eden, He wanted him to cultivate it and take care of it, and so be a fellow-worker with Him. He said to Adam, “You may eat the fruits of any of the trees in the garden, except the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. That fruit you must not eat; if you do then you will surely die.”

Then God brought all the animals and birds in front of Adam, and Adam gave them all their names.

God has decided that it was not good for Adam to be all alone in the garden, so when Adam was asleep, He made a woman to share life in the garden with Adam.

Adam named her Eve, and they both began a happy life together looking after the beautiful garden and everything in it.

One of the creatures living in the garden was a snake, and he was very cunning. One day he glided up to Eve and said, “Did God really says that you must not eat the fruit of any of the trees?”

“No”, Eve replied to the snake. “We may eat the fruit of the trees, except from that tree in the middle---the tree which is called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God said that if we ate any of that fruit, then we would surely die.”

“That’s not true, you know,” he hissed. “God said that because He knew that if you ate the fruit, then you would know all about good and evil, and so you would be like God Himself.”

Eve looked at the beautiful tree again and saw how delicious its fruit looked. Perhaps as taste would not matter---and it would be wonderful to be as wise as God, she thought. It would do no harm if she took a bite. So she plucked one of the tempting fruits and ate it. It taste nice, so she gave some to Adam and he ate too.

However, as soon as they had eaten, they suddenly realized what they had done and both felt very ashamed that they had disobeyed God. They knew they had chosen their own way and not God’s, and that they had spoilt the beauty of that perfect garden by doing wrong. For the first time they became aware that they were naked and in their embarrassment they rushed to make clothing for themselves out of leaves.

The same evening, they heard God walking in the garden, by they felt guilty and tried to hide from Him among the trees.

But God called out, “Adam, where are you?”

“I heard You coming,” answered Adam, “and I was afraid, so I hid myself from You.”

“Have you eaten any of the fruit that I commanded you not to eat?” asked God.

“Eve gave the fruit to me and I ate it,” said Adam, who was not feeling very brave and was ready to blame someone else.

God turned to Eve and said “Why did you do this?”

Eve, too, tried to put the blame on to another, and she said. “The snake tricked me into doing it.”

God was very sad at what happened, for he felt that Adam and Eve could no longer be trusted and so were not fit to stay in the lovely garden. Their wrong-doing had to be punished.

Then He turned to the snake and said, “You, of all the animals, must bear the punishment for this. From now on you will crawl along the earth and eat dust for as long as you live. You and the woman will always be enemies.

To Eve God said, “You will have to suffer pain when your children are born. And to Adam He said, “You listened to your wife and you ate the fruit which I have forbidden you to eat. Because of this, you will work hard all your life to make the earth produce enough food for you. There will always be weeds and thorns and you will have to toil all the time to make anything grow on the land at all.”

So where before Adam had been looking after a perfect and fertile garden, now he would have to struggle in a wilderness of weeds and thistles.

Then God said, “Now man has become like Me and has knowledge of good and evil. He cannot be allowed to eat the fruit of the Tree of Life and thus live forever.

So God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, and Adam was set to work to cultivate the land outside it.

In order to keep either Adam and Eve, or anyone else, from coming near the Tree of Life, God placed winged creatures as a symbol of His majesty and presence at the east of the garden, and also angels, with flaming sword, to keep our intruders.

Winged Creature that guards the Garden of Eden from intruders

Jacob Was Named Israel

2025-03-18T00:47:00.000-07:00

Jacob Is Israel

Jacob named Israel

God said to Jacob, “Go to Bethel at once, and live there. Build an altar there to me, the God who appeared to you when you were running away from your brother Esau.”

So Jacob said to his family and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that you have; purify yourselves and put on clean clothes. We are going to leave here and go to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who helped me in the time of my trouble and who has been with me everywhere I have gone.” So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that they had and also the earrings that they were wearing. He buried then beneath them beneath the oak tree near Shechem.

When Jacob and his sons started to leave, great fear fell on the people of the nearby towns, and they did not pursue them. Jacob came with all his people to Luz, which is now known as Bethel, in the land of Canaan. He built an altar there and named the place for the God of Bethel, because God had revealed himself to him there when he was running away from his brother.

When Jacob returned to Mesopotamia, God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but from now on it will be Israel.” So God name him Israel. And God said to him, “I am Almighty God. Have many children. Nations will be descended from you, and you will be the ancestor of kings. I will give you the land which I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, and I will also give it to your descendants after you.” Then God left him. There, where God has spoken to him, Jacob set up a memorial stone and consecrated it by pouring wine and olive oil on it. He named the place Bethel.

(Pasugo, God’s Message: Quoted from Genesis 35:1-7, 9-15 - Today’s English Version)

Isaac Blesses Jacob

2025-03-18T00:46:00.005-07:00

Jacob Was Blessed By Isaac

Isaac blesses Jacob

“I am,” he answered.

Isaac said, “Bring me some of the meat. After I eat it, I will give you my blessing.” Jacob brought it to him…

“Who are you?” Isaac asked. Your older son Esau,” he answered.

When Esau heard this, he cried out loudly and bitterly and said, “Give me your blessing also, father!...”

(Pasugo, God’s Message: Quoted from Genesis 27:21-34, 37-40, Today’s English Version)

Esau Sells His Rights To Jacob

2025-03-18T00:46:00.004-07:00

Esau Sold His Rights

Esau sells his rights to Jacob

This is the story of Abraham’s son Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebecca, the daughter of Bethuel (an Aramean from Mesopotamia) and sister of Laban. Because Rebecca had no children, Isaac prayed to the LORD for her. The LORD answered his prayer, and Rebecca became pregnant. She was going to have twins, and before they were born, they struggled against each other in her womb. She said, “Why should something like this happen to me?” So she went to ask the LORD for an answer.

The LORD said to her, “Two nations are within you; you will give birth to two rival peoples. One will be stronger than the other; the older will serve the younger.”

The time came for her to give birth and she had twin sons. The first was reddish, and his skin was like a hairy robe, so he was named Esau. The second one was born holding on tightly to the heel of Esau, so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skilled hunter, a man who loved the outdoors, but Jacob was a quite man who stayed at home. Isaac preferred Esau because he enjoyed eating the animals Esau killed, but Rebecca preferred Jacob.

One day while Jacob was cooking some bean soup, Esau came in from hunting. He was hungry and said Jacob, I’m starving; give me some of the red stuff.” (That is why he was named Edom).

Jacob answered, “I will give it to you if you give me your rights as the first-born son.”

Esau said, “All right! I am about to die; what good will my rights do me?”

Jacob answered, “First make a vow that you will give me your rights as the first-born son”.

Esau made he vow and gave his rights to Jacob. Then Jacob gave him some bread and some of the soup. He ate and drank and then got up and left. That was all Esau cared about his rights as the first-born son.

Quoted from Genesis 25:19-34, Today’s English Version


clay mountain

Elijah

2025-03-18T00:46:00.003-07:00

Prophet Elijah

When David died, his son Solomon became King, But after Solomon’s death, civil war broke out in Israel, and the country became divided in two kingdoms. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin formed the Kingdom of Judah in the south, and the remaining ten tribes formed the Kingdom of Israel in the north. The latter had a succession of kings, but none was very good; these included one of the worst kings ever----Ahab of Israel. He had a wife named Jezebel who was, if anything, worse than he was. Both of them worshiped the Philistine god, Baal.

Now as often happened, God chose someone to pass on His message. This was a prophet called Elijah, who was not afraid of speaking out for God. He went to Ahad and said there would be no more rain until God (not Baal) said so. God had decided to teach Ahad and his followers that only He had power over sun and rain.

Then God told Elijah to go to the brook called Cherith, where ravens would bring him food each day and he would be able to drink from the stream. This Elijah did, but because there was no more rain after the brook dried up.

Elijah then went to stay with a widow and her young son. They gave him food---though they had little enough for themselves. But, because God was looking after them, the widow’s supply of food, small though it was, never ran out in the time Elijah was with her.

No rain fell upon the land for three years, and the drought and the famine grew very severe. In the third year God said to Elijah, “Go to Ahab, and I will send rain.”

About this time Ahab was talking to a man named Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace household. Obadiah was a good man who believed in God, and had even rescued some God’s prophets from the wicked Queen Jezebel when she was about to kill them.

Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go out and see if you can find enough grass anywhere to keep the animals alive.”

Obadiah was rather fearful. “The king has been looking for you in every country,” he said, “as if I tell him you are here, and you have moved on by the time he gets to you, then he will surely kill me.”

“Go and tell him,” said Elijah, “I will see him today.”

So Obadiah went and told Ahab, and Ahab set off to meet Elijah. When he saw then prophet he said, “There you are---the man who is causing all this trouble in Israel!”

“I’m not causing any,” said Elijah; “it is and your people who have disobeyed God’s commands and worshipping idols.”

Ahab could not deny this and he did not attempt to. Elijah went on, “Order all the people of Israel to come to Mount Carmel. Bring along the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah whom the Queen Jezebel supports.”

Ahab had little choice. He thought it possible that Elijah’s God would send rain, so he gathered the people together.

Elijah looked around at the crowd gathered upon Mount Carmel. “How long are you going to dither between two ways?” he thundered. “If the Lord is the true God, follow Him, but if Baal is god, follow him.”

There was silence all over the place. The people did not know what to say.

I am the only prophet of the Lord here,” said Elijah, “but there are 450 prophets of Baal. Now, bring two bulls for a sacrifice. Let us take one and put it on the wood, but do not light the fire. Then we shall each pray to our god to send fire and the one who answers, then he is God.”

The people agreed, and Elijah let the prophets of Baal go first as there were so many of them. They took the bull and prepared it and put it on the wood. Then they cried to Baal from morning until noon, calling “O Baal, answer us!” They shouted and danced around, but there was no reply.

“Shout a bit louder,” teased Elijah. “Perhaps you god has gone on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep. You must waken him.” So the prophets of Baal cried louder and danced about in frenzy, cutting themselves with their knives and daggers, which was one of their customs. But still there was no answering voice, and no fire.

When they had all worn themselves out, Elijah said, “Now it is my turn.” The people gathered round him and watched while he repaired the altar which had been torn down. He took twelve stones, one for each of the twelve tribes of tribes of Israel, and built it up, and then dug a trench around it. He put the wood on the altar and the bull upon the wood. Then he ordered water to be poured over the whole thing, not once, but three times, until the whole trench was full of water, and the wood was soaking wet.

Then he prayed, O Lord God, show that You are the true God, so that these people will know You want to bring them back to the true faith.”

Immediately, fire came down from heaven, and burnt up the bull and the wood and the stones and the dust; it even dried up the water that was in the trench. When the people saw this, they were overawed and fell down on their faces crying, “The Lord He is God; the Lord, He is God.”

“Seize the prophets of Baal,” commanded Elijah, “Let none of them escape! They have led you wrongly.” The prophets were seized and put to death, by which act the people really proved that they knew they had a new God.

Then Elijah turned to Ahab and said, “Go and eat, for I hear that rain is coming.” While Ahab was going, Elijah and his servant climbed up to the top of Mount Carmel. “Go and look towards the sea,” said Elijah, and the servant went.

“I see nothing,” he said

“Go again”, said Elijah, “seven times.”

At the seventh time, the servant returned and said, “I saw a cloud, no bigger than a man’s hand, rising up out of the sea.”

“Then go and tell King Ahab to get into his chariot and go home before the rain stops him,” said Elijah.

Soon the sky was covered with dark clouds and the wind began to blow, and great heavy raindrops started to fall. Elijah fastened his robes about him, and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot, all the way back to Jezreel where Ahab’s palace was.

Abraham’s Obedient Reverence To God

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Abraham's Love And Trust With God

Some time later God tested Abraham; he called him, “Abraham!” and Abraham answered, “Yes, here I am!”

“Take your son,” God said, “your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that I will show you, offer him as a sacrifice to me.”

Early the next morning Abraham cut some wood for the sacrifice, loaded his donkey, and took Isaac and two servants with him. They started out for the place that God had told him about. On the third day Abraham saw the place in the distance. Then he said to the servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there and worship, l and then we will come back to you.”

Abraham made Isaac carry the wood for the sacrifice, and he himself carried a knife and live coal for starting the fire. As they walked along together, Isaac spoke up, “Father!”

He answered, “Yes, my son?”

Isaac asked, ‘I see that you have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?”

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide one.” And the two of them walked together.

When they came to the place which God had told him about, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. He tied up his son and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he picked up the knife to kill him. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!”

He answered, “Yes, here I am”

“Don’t hurt the boy or do anything to him,” he said. Now I know that you have obedient reverence for God, because you have not kept back your only son from him.”

Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught in a bush by its horns. He went and got it and offered it as a burnt offering instead of his son. Abraham named the place “The Lord Provides.” And even today people say, “On the Lord’s mountain he provides.”

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time, “I make a vow by my own name---the Lord is speaking---that I will richly bless you. Because you did this did not keep back your only son from me, I promise that I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or grains sands along the seashore. Your descendants will conquer their enemies. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants---all because you obeyed my command.

Abraham went back to his servants, and they went together to Beersheba when Abraham settled.

(Pasugo, God’s Message: Quoted from Genesis 22:1-19, Today’s English Version)

Story Of Abraham And Isaac

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Abraham and Isaac

In the ancient city of Ur, in Babylonia, there lived a good man named Abram. One day, he and his wife Sarai set out from Ur to go to the land of Canaan.

Abram settled in the southern part of Canaan, and God said to him, “Look in all directors. This is the land which I am going to give you and your children and their children, and it will be yours for ever. You will have so many descendants that no one will be able to count them all.”

Although Abram had no children at that time, he believed and trusted God’s word. He set up his camp near the sacred trees of Mamre at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

One day the voice of God spoke to him and said, I am the Almighty God. You must obey me and always do what is right.”

Abram bowed down and his face touched the ground. God repeated His promise that Abram would be the ancestor of many nations, and then He said, “Your name will no longer Abram, but Abraham; no longer shall you call your wife Sarai; from now on her name is Sarah, and there well be kings among her descendants.”

Abraham must have found this news hard to believe, for both her and Sarah were very old.

One hot day Abraham was sitting by the door of his tent when he looked up and saw three strangers coming towards him. People were always very welcoming and polite to travelers in that country, so Abraham ran out, bowed to the men and said, “Sirs, please do not pass my door without stopping. Let me bring water to wash your feet and some food; it will help you on your journey. You have honored me by coming here, so now let me serve you with the best that my house can provide.”

“Thank you,” said the newcomers. “We accept gladly.”

So Abraham ran out into the tent and said to his wife Sarah, “Quickly, let us prepare a meal for our visitors.”

He took bread, cream, milk and some tender meat and set it before his guests.

Then the visitors asked him, “Where is your wife?”

“She is in the tent,” answered Abraham.

“In the spring, she will have a son,” said of the men.

Sarah was just behind the tent entrance, and she laughed. “I am much too old to have a baby,” she thought to herself, “and Abraham is too old to be a father.”

“Why is it that Sarah laughed?” the stranger asked Abraham. “Is there anything which is too hard for the Lord to do?”

The strangers left and Abraham walked with them part of the way. By now he had realized that the men were messengers from God. He knew that if God had planned it, then Sarah would certainly have a son.

The promised that the strangers had brought to Abraham from God came true, and before long Sarah had a son, just as they had said. Abraham and Sarah were delighted, and they called the boy Isaac, which means “full of laughter”. Perhaps this was they laughed with happiness when he was born, or it may have been because they remembered Sarah laughing in the tent when they first heard of their son yet to be born.

“God has brought me great joy and laughter,” said Sarah.

Isaac grew up to be a fine boy and his parents loved him very much.

But when Isaac was still quite young, God put Abraham to the test to see whether he really trusted Him.

God called to Abraham one day, “Abraham! Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love so much, and set out for the land of Moriah. I will show you a mountain there, and on it I want you to offer your son as a sacrifice to Me.”

Abraham must have wondered if he had heard God rightly. In those days human sacrifices were not uncommon, and people always offered to God the best that they had, but could God really want Abraham to kill and offer his only son whom God Himself had sent?

However, Abraham’s trust in God was great. He believed that God’s commands must be obeyed, so he did not delay.

Early next morning he called Isaac and hold him they were going off into the mountains. He cut some wood for the sacrifice and loaded it upon his donkey. Then, with Isaac and two of his servants, he set out, walking with a sad and very heavy heart.

After three days’ journeying, Abraham saw the mountain ahead. He turned to the servants and said, “Stay here with the donkey, while Isaac and I go over there to worship.

In saying this, he hoped that perhaps in some way God would be able to save his son for him.

Abraham carried the knife and the coals for the fire, while Isaac carried the wood. As they climbed the mountain, Isaac looked puzzled and said, “Father, we have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb which we are going to sacrifice?”

All Abraham could reply was, “God Himself will provide.

When they arrived at the place of which God had told him, Abraham began to build an altar and to arrange the wood on it. Then he took Isaac and bound him and placed him on the altar on top of the wood. Then he raised the knife up on his head.

At the moment the voice of an angel called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!

“Yes, here I am,” answered Abraham.

“Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to hurt him. Now I know that you really trust God, because you have not kept back your son from him.”

What a great relief Abraham felt! He looked around and there he saw a ram with its horns caught in a bush. God send it for him to sacrifice in place of his son.

God was pleased with this great proof of Abraham’s love and trust in Him.

Then the angel called to Abraham a second time and said, “God says, because you did this, and did not hold back your son, He will indeed bless you. You will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand on the seashore, because you have obeyed His voice without question.”

Abraham named the place of sacrifice Jehovah-Jireh, which means “The Lord will provide”. Even today people say, “On the Lord’s mountain He provides.”

The First Whitsunday And The Ascension

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The Ascension and First Whitsunday

For forty days after Jesus had risen from the dead on the first Easter Sunday, He was seen by many of His friends at various times. There could be no doubt that He was alive again and had risen from the dead, just as He had said He would.

The First Easter Sunday

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The First Easter Day

The day after Jesus’ crucifixion was the seventh day of the week, the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) when work was forbidden. The following day as the first day of the week (Sunday).

The Magi Searched For The Messiah

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The Visit of the Wise Men

Some time after the birth of Jesus, a group of rather important-looking men arrived in Jerusalem and began asking questions. They were men who studied the stars and their meanings, and were known as astrologers, or sometime as “magi”, or just “wise men”.

Jesus Christ Is The Risen Lord

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Jesus is Risen

Later on, towards the evening of that wonderful first Easter day, two of Jesus followers were walking from Jerusalem to the little village of Emmaus, a distance of about seven miles.

Jesus Christ Was Cruficified

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Jesus is tried and crucified

Jesus was taken that night at the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where all the lawyers and elders had gathered together. They did their best to find some false evidence against Jesus so that they could have Him put to death; but they were unable to find any, even though many of the “witnesses” did not tell the truth at all, but made thing up and twisted the facts of real events.

Jesus And The Apostles Last Supper

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The Last Supper

During the week which began with the first Palm Sunday came the Passover festival which was celebrated all over Israel.

Jesus and His disciples, who were now in Jerusalem, were also to celebrate the festival, and the disciples asked Jesus, “Where would you like us to go to get Passover meal ready, for we must make the arrangements?”

Jesus At The Garden Of Gethsemane

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The Garden of Gethsemane

Now Judas was the treasurer of little band of Jesus’ disciples and therefore had charge of the money. He had not always been honest and had at times helped himself from the money bag. Yet for nearly three years he had been among the group of Jesus’ closest followers, listening to Him, watching His wonderful deeds, and learning from Him. It was sad that he did not live up to Jesus’ hopes for him when He first called him to be a disciple.

Some time before the Last Supper, Judas had gone to the chief priests and had asked, “How much will you give me if I betray Jesus to you?”

From that time Judas kept on the lookout for an opportunity to betray his master. The chief priests and elders wanted Jesus arrested secretly, for they feared that if they took Him openly, there would be a riot among the people.

When the Passover meal that Last Supper, ended, Jesus and the disciples sang a hymn and went to the Garden of Gethsemane, which was near the foot of the slope of the Mount Olives. It was a quiet garden, away from the noise and bustle of Jerusalem.

Here Jesus said to eight of the disciples, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” Then He took Peter, James and John on the little further. To these three He said, “Wait here and keep watch with Me, for the sorrow in My heart is very great.”

He Himself went on a short distance and threw Himself face down on the ground and prayed to God, “Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering away from me; nevertheless, let not what I wish happen here, but what You wish.” And God sent Him the strength to go through with what was to happen.

Then He got up and went back to the three disciples, and found that they had fallen asleep, for they were tired and worn out by grief and worry, Jesus said to Peter, “Weren’t

Jesus Welcomed In Jesus Jerusalem

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Jesus Enters Jerusalem

It was Passover time, a busy time in the city, when thousands of Jews were going up to the temple in Jerusalem to keep the festival, the great feast which commemorated the nation’s deliverance from Egypt.

Jesus Healed The Sick

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Jesus The Healer

Jesus soon became well known for His works of healing and people came to him from far and near to be cured of their illnesses.

One day, after he had been teaching in Galilee, there came to Him a man who was suffering from a terrible skin disease called leprosy.

Spirituality

The One Minute Prayer

Prophet Samuel

The Baby Moses In The Bulrushes

The Fall Of Man

Isaac blesses Jacob

The Story Of David

Joseph Interprets the King’s Dreams

The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments Moses with the Ten Commandments http://posts.fanbox.com/g4s14

The Ten Commandments

Noah And The Great Flood

The Garden Of Eden

Jacob Was Named Israel

Isaac Blesses Jacob

Esau Sells His Rights To Jacob

Elijah

Abraham’s Obedient Reverence To God

Story Of Abraham And Isaac

The First Whitsunday And The Ascension

The First Easter Sunday

The Magi Searched For The Messiah

Jesus Christ Is The Risen Lord

Jesus Christ Was Cruficified

Jesus And The Apostles Last Supper

Jesus At The Garden Of Gethsemane

Jesus Welcomed In Jesus Jerusalem

Jesus Healed The Sick

The Ten Commandments

Moses with the Ten Commandments

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