May 19, 2017

Panic or confidence by Gary Rose

Things happen, and not all of them are good things- in fact, some things are downright terrible. Sickness, loss of a job or a loved one can make you feel depressed. But, take heart and DON'T PANIC- God is in control!!!

The apostle Paul writes to the Romans...


Romans, Chapter 8 (World English Bible)
  28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Really, EVERYTHING???? Yes, everything!!! Hard to believe, maybe- but its true. In high school, I dislocated my left knee (patella) twice and spent the better part of two years on crutches. The upside was Linda carried my books and we eventually married. Several years later, I dislocated my knee again, when I jumped into my Mother-in-laws pool. I almost drowned, but Linda jumped in and pulled me out- even though she couldn't swim. Still later, I lost my job at Norton Co, only to find a much better one latter. These are but a few instances of the many times that bad things had positive results in my life.
Understanding this passage in Romans has helped me overcome obstacles that would have otherwise crushed my life. In Christ I have hope and confidence that whatever happens to me will eventually have a positive effect. I hope you will come to appreciate it as much as I have.
PS. Patella dislocation is extremely painful, but consider that when a person is crucified eventually every time a breath is taken both shoulder joints are dislocated. Needless to say, it helped me understand the pain that Jesus went through on the cross!!! 

Bible Reading May 19-21 by Gary Rose

Bible Reading May 19-21 (World English Bible)

May 19
Joshua 19, 20

Jos 19:1 The second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. Their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah.
Jos 19:2 They had for their inheritance Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah,
Jos 19:3 Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem,
Jos 19:4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
Jos 19:5 Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah,
Jos 19:6 Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages;
Jos 19:7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; four cities with their villages;
Jos 19:8 and all the villages that were around these cities to Baalath Beer, Ramah of the South. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.
Jos 19:9 Out of the part of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon; for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them. Therefore the children of Simeon had inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.
Jos 19:10 The third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families. The border of their inheritance was to Sarid.
Jos 19:11 Their border went up westward, even to Maralah, and reached to Dabbesheth. It reached to the brook that is before Jokneam.
Jos 19:12 It turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrise to the border of Chisloth Tabor. It went out to Daberath, and went up to Japhia.
Jos 19:13 From there it passed along eastward to Gath Hepher, to Ethkazin; and it went out at Rimmon which stretches to Neah.
Jos 19:14 The border turned around it on the north to Hannathon; and it ended at the valley of Iphtah El;
Jos 19:15 Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.
Jos 19:16 This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
Jos 19:17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, even for the children of Issachar according to their families.
Jos 19:18 Their border was to Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem,
Jos 19:19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,
Jos 19:20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez,
Jos 19:21 Remeth, Engannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez.
Jos 19:22 The border reached to Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh. Their border ended at the Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages.
Jos 19:23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.
Jos 19:24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.
Jos 19:25 Their border was Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph,
Jos 19:26 Allammelech, Amad, Mishal. It reached to Carmel westward, and to Shihorlibnath.
Jos 19:27 It turned toward the sunrise to Beth Dagon, and reached to Zebulun, and to the valley of Iphtah El northward to Beth Emek and Neiel. It went out to Cabul on the left hand,
Jos 19:28 and Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, even to great Sidon.
Jos 19:29 The border turned to Ramah, to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah. It ended at the sea by the region of Achzib;
Jos 19:30 Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty-two cities with their villages.
Jos 19:31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
Jos 19:32 The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families.
Jos 19:33 Their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, Adaminekeb, and Jabneel, to Lakkum. It ended at the Jordan.
Jos 19:34 The border turned westward to Aznoth Tabor, and went out from there to Hukkok. It reached to Zebulun on the south, and reached to Asher on the west, and to Judah at the Jordan toward the sunrise.
Jos 19:35 The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth,
Jos 19:36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor,
Jos 19:37 Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor,
Jos 19:38 Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages.
Jos 19:39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.
Jos 19:40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.
Jos 19:41 The border of their inheritance was Zorah, Eshtaol, Irshemesh,
Jos 19:42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,
Jos 19:43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
Jos 19:44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,
Jos 19:45 Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon,
Jos 19:46 Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border over against Joppa.
Jos 19:47 The border of the children of Dan went out beyond them; for the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and lived therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.
Jos 19:48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
Jos 19:49 So they made an end of distributing the land for inheritance by its borders. The children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun in the midst of them.
Jos 19:50 According to the commandment of Yahweh, they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnathserah in the hill country of Ephraim; and he built the city, and lived there.
Jos 19:51 These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before Yahweh, at the door of the Tent of Meeting. So they made an end of dividing the land.

Jos 20:1 Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,
Jos 20:2 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,
Jos 20:3 that the manslayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.
Jos 20:4 He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them.
Jos 20:5 If the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver up the manslayer into his hand; because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, and didn't hate him before.
Jos 20:6 He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days. Then the manslayer shall return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city he fled from.' "
Jos 20:7 They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
Jos 20:8 Beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.
Jos 20:9 These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stands before the congregation.


May 20
Joshua 21, 22

Jos 21:1 Then the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites came near to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.
Jos 21:2 They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, "Yahweh commanded Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for our livestock."
Jos 21:3 The children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance, according to the commandment of Yahweh, these cities with their suburbs.
Jos 21:4 The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. The children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had thirteen cities by lot out of the tribe of Judah, out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin.
Jos 21:5 The rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Jos 21:6 The children of Gershon had thirteen cities by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, out of the tribe of Asher, out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
Jos 21:7 The children of Merari according to their families had twelve cities out of the tribe of Reuben, out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun.
Jos 21:8 The children of Israel gave these cities with their suburbs by lot to the Levites, as Yahweh commanded by Moses.
Jos 21:9 They gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are mentioned by name:
Jos 21:10 and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot.
Jos 21:11 They gave them Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (the same is Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, with its suburbs around it.
Jos 21:12 But they gave the fields of the city and its villages to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
Jos 21:13 To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah with its suburbs,
Jos 21:14 Jattir with its suburbs, Eshtemoa with its suburbs,
Jos 21:15 Holon with its suburbs, Debir with its suburbs,
Jos 21:16 Ain with its suburbs, Juttah with its suburbs, and Beth Shemesh with its suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.
Jos 21:17 Out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its suburbs, Geba with its suburbs,
Jos 21:18 Anathoth with its suburbs, and Almon with its suburbs; four cities.
Jos 21:19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
Jos 21:20 The families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.
Jos 21:21 They gave them Shechem with its suburbs in the hill country of Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Gezer with its suburbs,
Jos 21:22 Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth Horon with its suburbs; four cities.
Jos 21:23 Out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its suburbs, Gibbethon with its suburbs,
Jos 21:24 Aijalon with its suburbs, Gath Rimmon with its suburbs; four cities.
Jos 21:25 Out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its suburbs, and Gath Rimmon with its suburbs; two cities.
Jos 21:26 All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with their suburbs.
Jos 21:27 They gave to the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be Eshterah with its suburbs; two cities.
Jos 21:28 Out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its suburbs, Daberath with its suburbs,
Jos 21:29 Jarmuth with its suburbs, En Gannim with its suburbs; four cities.
Jos 21:30 Out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with its suburbs,
Jos 21:31 Helkath with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs; four cities.
Jos 21:32 Out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, Hammothdor with its suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs; three cities.
Jos 21:33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
Jos 21:34 To the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, Kartah with its suburbs,
Jos 21:35 Dimnah with its suburbs, and Nahalal with its suburbs; four cities.
Jos 21:36 Out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, Jahaz with its suburbs,
Jos 21:37 Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; four cities.
Jos 21:38 Out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs,
Jos 21:39 Heshbon with its suburbs, Jazer with its suburbs; four cities in all.
Jos 21:40 All these were the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites. Their lot was twelve cities.
Jos 21:41 All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their suburbs.
Jos 21:42 Each of these cities included their suburbs around them. It was this way with all these cities.
Jos 21:43 So Yahweh gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers. They possessed it, and lived in it.
Jos 21:44 Yahweh gave them rest all around, according to all that he swore to their fathers. Not a man of all their enemies stood before them. Yahweh delivered all their enemies into their hand.
Jos 21:45 Nothing failed of any good thing which Yahweh had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

Jos 22:1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh,
Jos 22:2 and said to them, "You have kept all that Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you.
Jos 22:3 You have not left your brothers these many days to this day, but have performed the duty of the commandment of Yahweh your God.
Jos 22:4 Now Yahweh your God has given rest to your brothers, as he spoke to them. Therefore now return and go to your tents, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond the Jordan.
Jos 22:5 Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."
Jos 22:6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; and they went to their tents.
Jos 22:7 Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given inheritance in Bashan; but to the other half gave Joshua among their brothers beyond the Jordan westward. Moreover when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them,
Jos 22:8 and spoke to them, saying, "Return with much wealth to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with brass, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers."
Jos 22:9 The children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they owned, according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.
Jos 22:10 When they came to the region about the Jordan, that is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, a great altar to look at.
Jos 22:11 The children of Israel heard this, "Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar in the forefront of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that pertains to the children of Israel."
Jos 22:12 When the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.
Jos 22:13 The children of Israel sent to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,
Jos 22:14 and with him ten princes, one prince of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel; and they were everyone of them head of their fathers' houses among the thousands of Israel.
Jos 22:15 They came to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying,
Jos 22:16 "Thus says the whole congregation of Yahweh, 'What trespass is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following Yahweh, in that you have built you an altar, to rebel this day against Yahweh?
Jos 22:17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although there came a plague on the congregation of Yahweh,
Jos 22:18 that you must turn away this day from following Yahweh? It will be, seeing that you rebel today against Yahweh, that tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.
Jos 22:19 However, if the land of your possession is unclean, then pass over to the land of the possession of Yahweh, in which Yahweh's tabernacle dwells, and take possession among us; but don't rebel against Yahweh, nor rebel against us, in building an altar other than the altar of Yahweh our God.
Jos 22:20 Didn't Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the devoted thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? That man didn't perish alone in his iniquity.' "
Jos 22:21 Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke to the heads of the thousands of Israel,
Jos 22:22 "The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, the Mighty One, God, Yahweh, he knows; and Israel shall know: if it was in rebellion, or if in trespass against Yahweh (don't save us this day),
Jos 22:23 that we have built us an altar to turn away from following Yahweh; or if to offer burnt offering or meal offering, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings, let Yahweh himself require it.
Jos 22:24 If we have not out of concern done this, and for a reason, saying, 'In time to come your children might speak to our children, saying, "What have you to do with Yahweh, the God of Israel?
Jos 22:25 For Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you, you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no portion in Yahweh." ' So your children might make our children cease from fearing Yahweh.
Jos 22:26 Therefore we said, 'Let's now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice;
Jos 22:27 but it will be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may perform the service of Yahweh before him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings;' that your children may not tell our children in time to come, 'You have no portion in Yahweh.'
Jos 22:28 Therefore we said, 'It shall be, when they tell us or our generations this in time to come, that we shall say, "Behold the pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you." '
Jos 22:29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against Yahweh, and turn away this day from following Yahweh, to build an altar for burnt offering, for meal offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of Yahweh our God that is before his tabernacle!"
Jos 22:30 When Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well.
Jos 22:31 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, "Today we know that Yahweh is in the midst of us, because you have not committed this trespass against Yahweh. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Yahweh."
Jos 22:32 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.
Jos 22:33 The thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and spoke no more of going up against them to war, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad lived.
Jos 22:34 The children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar "A Witness Between Us that Yahweh is God."


May 21
Joshua 23, 24

Jos 23:1 It happened after many days, when Yahweh had given rest to Israel from their enemies all around, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years,
Jos 23:2 that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads, and for their judges and for their officers, and said to them, "I am old and well advanced in years.
Jos 23:3 You have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations because of you; for it is Yahweh your God who has fought for you.
Jos 23:4 Behold, I have allotted to you these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even to the great sea toward the going down of the sun.
Jos 23:5 Yahweh your God will thrust them out from before you, and drive them from out of your sight. You shall possess their land, as Yahweh your God spoke to you.
Jos 23:6 Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left;
Jos 23:7 that you not come among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow down yourselves to them;
Jos 23:8 but hold fast to Yahweh your God, as you have done to this day.
Jos 23:9 For Yahweh has driven great and strong nations out from before you. But as for you, no man has stood before you to this day.
Jos 23:10 One man of you shall chase a thousand; for it is Yahweh your God who fights for you, as he spoke to you.
Jos 23:11 Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love Yahweh your God.
Jos 23:12 Else if you do at all go back, and hold fast to the remnant of these nations, even these who remain among you, and make marriages with them, and go in to them, and they to you;
Jos 23:13 know for a certainty that Yahweh your God will no longer drive these nations from out of your sight; but they shall be a snare and a trap to you, a scourge in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you.
Jos 23:14 Behold, today I am going the way of all the earth. You know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which Yahweh your God spoke concerning you. All have happened to you. Not one thing has failed of it.
Jos 23:15 It shall happen that as all the good things have come on you of which Yahweh your God spoke to you, so Yahweh will bring on you all the evil things, until he has destroyed you from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you,
Jos 23:16 when you disobey the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down yourselves to them. Then the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which he has given to you."

Jos 24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
Jos 24:2 Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor: and they served other gods.
Jos 24:3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.
Jos 24:4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his children went down into Egypt.
Jos 24:5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did in its midst: and afterward I brought you out.
Jos 24:6 I brought your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the sea. The Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Red Sea.
Jos 24:7 When they cried out to Yahweh, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt: and you lived in the wilderness many days.
Jos 24:8 I brought you into the land of the Amorites, that lived beyond the Jordan: and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand. You possessed their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
Jos 24:9 Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. He sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you;
Jos 24:10 but I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still. So I delivered you out of his hand.
Jos 24:11 You went over the Jordan, and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; and I delivered them into your hand.
Jos 24:12 I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow.
Jos 24:13 I gave you a land whereon you had not labored, and cities which you didn't build, and you live in them. You eat of vineyards and olive groves which you didn't plant.'
Jos 24:14 Now therefore fear Yahweh, and serve him in sincerity and in truth. Put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, in Egypt; and serve Yahweh.
Jos 24:15 If it seems evil to you to serve Yahweh, choose this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh."
Jos 24:16 The people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake Yahweh, to serve other gods;
Jos 24:17 for it is Yahweh our God who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed.
Jos 24:18 Yahweh drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve Yahweh; for he is our God."
Jos 24:19 Joshua said to the people, "You can't serve Yahweh; for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins.
Jos 24:20 If you forsake Yahweh, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after he has done you good."
Jos 24:21 The people said to Joshua, "No; but we will serve Yahweh."
Jos 24:22 Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Yahweh yourselves, to serve him." They said, "We are witnesses."
Jos 24:23 "Now therefore put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to Yahweh, the God of Israel."
Jos 24:24 The people said to Joshua, "We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice."
Jos 24:25 So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
Jos 24:26 Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of Yahweh.
Jos 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of Yahweh which he spoke to us. It shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God."
Jos 24:28 So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
Jos 24:29 It happened after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred and ten years old.
Jos 24:30 They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.
Jos 24:31 Israel served Yahweh all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, and had known all the work of Yahweh, that he had worked for Israel.
Jos 24:32 They buried the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. They became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
Jos 24:33 Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in the hill of Phinehas his son, which was given him in the hill country of Ephraim.

May 18, 19
John 2

Joh 2:1 The third day, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. Jesus' mother was there.
Joh 2:2 Jesus also was invited, with his disciples, to the marriage.
Joh 2:3 When the wine ran out, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no wine."
Joh 2:4 Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come."
Joh 2:5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever he says to you, do it."
Joh 2:6 Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews' manner of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece.
Joh 2:7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the water pots with water." They filled them up to the brim.
Joh 2:8 He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast." So they took it.
Joh 2:9 When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn't know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom,
Joh 2:10 and said to him, "Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then that which is worse. You have kept the good wine until now!"
Joh 2:11 This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Joh 2:12 After this, he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
Joh 2:13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Joh 2:14 He found in the temple those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, and the changers of money sitting.
Joh 2:15 He made a whip of cords, and threw all out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the changers' money, and overthrew their tables.
Joh 2:16 To those who sold the doves, he said, "Take these things out of here! Don't make my Father's house a marketplace!"
Joh 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for your house will eat me up."
Joh 2:18 The Jews therefore answered him, "What sign do you show us, seeing that you do these things?"
Joh 2:19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
Joh 2:20 The Jews therefore said, "Forty-six years was this temple in building, and will you raise it up in three days?"
Joh 2:21 But he spoke of the temple of his body.
Joh 2:22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this, and they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
Joh 2:23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, observing his signs which he did.
Joh 2:24 But Jesus didn't trust himself to them, because he knew everyone,
Joh 2:25 and because he didn't need for anyone to testify concerning man; for he himself knew what was in man.


May 20, 21
John 3

Joh 3:1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
Joh 3:2 The same came to him by night, and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him."
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered him, "Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born anew, he can't see the Kingdom of God."
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, "Most certainly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can't enter into the Kingdom of God!
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Joh 3:7 Don't marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born anew.'
Joh 3:8 The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don't know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Joh 3:9 Nicodemus answered him, "How can these things be?"
Joh 3:10 Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and don't understand these things?
Joh 3:11 Most certainly I tell you, we speak that which we know, and testify of that which we have seen, and you don't receive our witness.
Joh 3:12 If I told you earthly things and you don't believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
Joh 3:13 No one has ascended into heaven, but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
Joh 3:14 As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
Joh 3:15 that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Joh 3:17 For God didn't send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.
Joh 3:18 He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn't believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
Joh 3:19 This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.
Joh 3:20 For everyone who does evil hates the light, and doesn't come to the light, lest his works would be exposed.
Joh 3:21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God."
Joh 3:22 After these things, Jesus came with his disciples into the land of Judea. He stayed there with them, and baptized.
Joh 3:23 John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there was much water there. They came, and were baptized.
Joh 3:24 For John was not yet thrown into prison.
Joh 3:25 There arose therefore a questioning on the part of John's disciples with some Jews about purification.
Joh 3:26 They came to John, and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, the same baptizes, and everyone is coming to him."
Joh 3:27 John answered, "A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven.
Joh 3:28 You yourselves testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before him.'
Joh 3:29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. This, my joy, therefore is made full.
Joh 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
Joh 3:31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the Earth belongs to the Earth, and speaks of the Earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
Joh 3:32 What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness.
Joh 3:33 He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true.
Joh 3:34 For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure.
Joh 3:35 The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand.
Joh 3:36 One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys the Son won't see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."