From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Wed Dec 1 21:16:37 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:16:37 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thursday - Judges 18 Message-ID: <4CF70185.5040208@bibleseven.com> Thursday Judges 18 The Tribe of Dan Finds an Inheritance 18:1 In those days Israel had no king. And in those days the Danite tribe was looking for a place to settle, because at that time they did not yet have a place to call their own among the tribes of Israel. 18:2 The Danites sent out from their whole tribe five representatives, capable men from Zorah and Eshtaol, to spy out the land and explore it. They said to them, "Go, explore the land." They came to the Ephraimite hill country and spent the night at Micah's house. 18:3 As they approached Micah's house, they recognized the accent of the young Levite. So they stopped there and said to him, "Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?" 18:4 He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, "He hired me and I became his priest." 18:5 They said to him, "Seek a divine oracle for us, so we can know if we will be successful on our mission." 18:6 The priest said to them, "Go with confidence. The Lord will be with you on your mission." 18:7 So the five men journeyed on and arrived in Laish. They noticed that the people there were living securely, like the Sidonians do, undisturbed and unsuspecting. No conqueror was troubling them in any way. They lived far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 18:8 When the Danites returned to their tribe in Zorah and Eshtaol, their kinsmen asked them, "How did it go?" 18:9 They said, "Come on, let's attack them, for we saw their land and it is very good. You seem lethargic, but don't hesitate to invade and conquer the land. 18:10 When you invade, you will encounter unsuspecting people. The land is wide! God is handing it over to you -- a place that lacks nothing on earth!" 18:11 So six hundred Danites, fully armed, set out from Zorah and Eshtaol. 18:12 They went up and camped in Kiriath Jearim in Judah. (To this day that place is called Camp of Dan. It is west of Kiriath Jearim.) 18:13 From there they traveled through the Ephraimite hill country and arrived at Micah's house. 18:14 The five men who had gone to spy out the land of Laish said to their kinsmen, "Do you realize that inside these houses are an ephod, some personal idols, a carved image, and a metal image? Decide now what you want to do." 18:15 They stopped there, went inside the young Levite's house (which belonged to Micah), and asked him how he was doing. 18:16 Meanwhile the six hundred Danites, fully armed, stood at the entrance to the gate. 18:17 The five men who had gone to spy out the land broke in and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, while the priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men. 18:18 When these men broke into Micah's house and stole the carved image, the ephod, the personal idols, and the metal image, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?" 18:19 They said to him, "Shut up! Put your hand over your mouth and come with us! You can be our adviser and priest. Wouldn't it be better to be a priest for a whole Israelite tribe than for just one man's family?" 18:20 The priest was happy. He took the ephod, the personal idols, and the carved image and joined the group. 18:21 They turned and went on their way, but they walked behind the children, the cattle, and their possessions. 18:22 After they had gone a good distance from Micah's house, Micah's neighbors gathered together and caught up with the Danites. 18:23 When they called out to the Danites, the Danites turned around and said to Micah, "Why have you gathered together?" 18:24 He said, "You stole my gods that I made, as well as this priest, and then went away. What do I have left? How can you have the audacity to say to me, 'What do you want?'" 18:25 The Danites said to him, "Don't say another word to us, or some very angry men will attack you, and you and your family will die." 18:26 The Danites went on their way; when Micah realized they were too strong to resist, he turned around and went home. 18:27 Now the Danites took what Micah had made, as well as his priest, and came to Laish, where the people were undisturbed and unsuspecting. They struck them down with the sword and burned the city. 18:28 No one came to the rescue because the city was far from Sidon and they had no dealings with anyone. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob. The Danites rebuilt the city and occupied it. 18:29 They named it Dan after their ancestor, who was one of Israel's sons. But the city's name used to be Laish. 18:30 The Danites worshiped the carved image. Jonathan, descendant of Gershom, son of Moses, and his descendants served as priests for the tribe of Dan until the time of the exile. 18:31 They worshiped Micah's carved image the whole time God's authorized shrine was in Shiloh. Prayer Lord, You show us the good and right way to fellowship with You and with one-another but we all-too-often choose to go our own destructive and rebellious way. May I recognize Your provision and Your path and follow You all of my days. Commentary The tribe of Dan has not fulfilled God's instructions and settled into a part of the promised land which God had caused the Israelites to subdue. The sent out spies who came upon Micah's home with his hired personal Levite priest, his metal idol, personal idols, ephod, and pagan religious practices. They also discover a nearby city which is not Israelite nor is it prepared against any potential attack. They return home and persuade their tribe to gather and attack. The tribe of Dan traveled past the home of Micah where they take his hired personal Levite priest, his metal idol, his personal idols, his ephod, and worse of all his pagan religious practices. Micah and his family pursue them but is persuaded to turn back as the Danites are much to strong for him. The Danites took the city and settled there but sold-out to the pagan religion and remained in rebellion against God until the time of exile from the promised land. Interaction Consider The Israelites were in such persistent rebellion, despite all that the Lord God had shown them and had done for them that now He chose to not give them a leader but to allow them to choose freely which way they would go. Discuss Given all that they had to know of their tribal history and of God why would the Danites act so foolishly? Reflect God had warned what would happen if the people turned to idols, yet they did so anyhow. Share When have you thought that you had achieved something valuable, in the eyes of the world, then discovered that you had paid a price too high in your relationship with God or a fellow believer? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you may be leaving God behind as you pursue something that the world says is valuable. Action: Today I will acknowledge my drift away from the Lord in pursuit of a worldly value. I will repent of it and return to a balance that favors God over everything else. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Friday's text will be: Judges 19-20 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Dec 1 23:16:57 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:16:57 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] =?windows-1252?q?OT=3A_Scientists_attach_barco?= =?windows-1252?q?des_to_mouse_embryos_=96_human_ones_coming_soon?= Message-ID: <4CF71DB9.3010302@lightlink.com> http://patriotsforamerica.ning.com/forum/topic/show?id=2734278%3ATopic%3A229716&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_topic -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Thu Dec 2 00:07:34 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2010 00:07:34 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Microsoft loses with prominent role in Novell deal Message-ID: <4CF72996.5030206@lightlink.com> Press and blogger coverage of Novell's acquisition by Attachmate has identified EMC VMware, previously a rumored Novell suitor , and possibly even Linux and open source in general as being hurt by the acquisition. That coverage has presented the acquisition as having a positive or -- at worst -- neutral impact on Microsoft's competitive position with both VMware and Linux. However, the truth is that Microsoft has lost more than it has won in its decision to pull together a consortium to buy some Novell patents to help raise funds for Attachmate's acquisition of Novell. http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source/microsoft-loses-prominent-role-in-novell-deal-994?source=IFWNLE_nlt_openenterprise_2010-12-01 -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Thu Dec 2 17:26:59 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:26:59 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Friday - Judges 19-20 Message-ID: <4CF81D33.7040902@bibleseven.com> Friday Judges 19-20 Sodom and Gomorrah Revisited 19:1 In those days Israel had no king. There was a Levite living temporarily in the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. He acquired a concubine from Bethlehem in Judah. 19:2 However, she got angry at him and went home to her father's house in Bethlehem in Judah. When she had been there four months, 19:3 her husband came after her, hoping he could convince her to return. He brought with him his servant and a pair of donkeys. When she brought him into her father's house and the girl's father saw him, he greeted him warmly. 19:4 His father-in-law, the girl's father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there. 19:5 On the fourth day they woke up early and the Levite got ready to leave. But the girl's father said to his son-in-law, "Have a bite to eat for some energy, then you can go." 19:6 So the two of them sat down and had a meal together. Then the girl's father said to the man, "Why not stay another night and have a good time!" 19:7 When the man got ready to leave, his father-in-law convinced him to stay another night. 19:8 He woke up early in the morning on the fifth day so he could leave, but the girl's father said, "Get some energy. Wait until later in the day to leave!" So they ate a meal together. 19:9 When the man got ready to leave with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, "Look! The day is almost over! Stay another night! Since the day is over, stay another night here and have a good time. You can get up early tomorrow and start your trip home." 19:10 But the man did not want to stay another night. He left and traveled as far as Jebus (that is, Jerusalem). He had with him a pair of saddled donkeys and his concubine. 19:11 When they got near Jebus, it was getting quite late and the servant said to his master, "Come on, let's stop at this Jebusite city and spend the night in it." 19:12 But his master said to him, "We should not stop at a foreign city where non-Israelites live. We will travel on to Gibeah." 19:13 He said to his servant, "Come on, we will go into one of the other towns and spend the night in Gibeah or Ramah." 19:14 So they traveled on, and the sun went down when they were near Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. 19:15 They stopped there and decided to spend the night in Gibeah. They came into the city and sat down in the town square, but no one invited them to spend the night. 19:16 But then an old man passed by, returning at the end of the day from his work in the field. The man was from the Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah. (The residents of the town were Benjaminites.) 19:17 When he looked up and saw the traveler in the town square, the old man said, "Where are you heading? Where do you come from?" 19:18 The Levite said to him, "We are traveling from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote region of the Ephraimite hill country. That's where I'm from. I had business in Bethlehem in Judah, but now I'm heading home. But no one has invited me into their home. 19:19 We have enough straw and grain for our donkeys, and there is enough food and wine for me, your female servant, and the young man who is with your servants. We lack nothing." 19:20 The old man said, "Everything is just fine! I will take care of all your needs. But don't spend the night in the town square." 19:21 So he brought him to his house and fed the donkeys. They washed their feet and had a meal. 19:22 They were having a good time, when suddenly some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, surrounded the house and kept beating on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, "Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him." 19:23 The man who owned the house went outside and said to them, "No, my brothers! Don't do this wicked thing! After all, this man is a guest in my house. Don't do such a disgraceful thing! 19:24 Here are my virgin daughter and my guest's concubine. I will send them out and you can abuse them and do to them whatever you like. But don't do such a disgraceful thing to this man!" 19:25 The men refused to listen to him, so the Levite grabbed his concubine and made her go outside. They raped her and abused her all night long until morning. They let her go at dawn. 19:26 The woman arrived back at daybreak and was sprawled out on the doorstep of the house where her master was staying until it became light. 19:27 When her master got up in the morning, opened the doors of the house, and went outside to start on his journey, there was the woman, his concubine, sprawled out on the doorstep of the house with her hands on the threshold. 19:28 He said to her, "Get up, let's leave!" But there was no response. He put her on the donkey and went home. 19:29 When he got home, he took a knife, grabbed his concubine, and carved her up into twelve pieces. Then he sent the pieces throughout Israel. 19:30 Everyone who saw the sight said, "Nothing like this has happened or been witnessed during the entire time since the Israelites left the land of Egypt! Take careful note of it! Discuss it and speak!" Civil War Breaks Out 20:1 All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba and from the land of Gilead left their homes and assembled together before the Lord at Mizpah. 20:2 The leaders of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God's people, which numbered four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers. 20:3 The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, "Explain how this wicked thing happened!" 20:4 The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up, "I and my concubine stopped in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin to spend the night. 20:5 The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died. 20:6 I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces throughout the territory occupied by Israel, because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity in Israel. 20:7 All you Israelites, make a decision here!" 20:8 All Israel rose up in unison and said, "Not one of us will go home! Not one of us will return to his house! 20:9 Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will attack the city as the lot dictates. 20:10 We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel (and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel." 20:11 So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies. 20:12 The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "How could such a wicked thing take place? 20:13 Now, hand over the good-for-nothings in Gibeah so we can execute them and purge Israel of wickedness." But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their Israelite brothers. 20:14 The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah to make war against the Israelites. 20:15 That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand sword-wielding soldiers, besides seven hundred well-trained soldiers from Gibeah. 20:16 Among this army were seven hundred specially-trained left-handed soldiers. Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target. 20:17 The men of Israel (not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior. 20:18 The Israelites went up to Bethel and asked God, "Who should lead the charge against the Benjaminites?" The Lord said, "Judah should lead." 20:19 The Israelites got up the next morning and moved against Gibeah. 20:20 The men of Israel marched out to fight Benjamin; they arranged their battle lines against Gibeah. 20:21 The Benjaminites attacked from Gibeah and struck down twenty-two thousand Israelites that day. 20:22 The Israelite army took heart and once more arranged their battle lines, in the same place where they had taken their positions the day before. 20:23 The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening. They asked the Lord, "Should we again march out to fight the Benjaminites, our brothers?" The Lord said, "Attack them!" 20:24 So the Israelites marched toward the Benjaminites the next day. 20:25 The Benjaminites again attacked them from Gibeah and struck down eighteen thousand sword-wielding Israelite soldiers. 20:26 So all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel. They wept and sat there before the Lord; they did not eat anything that day until evening. They offered up burnt sacrifices and tokens of peace to the Lord. 20:27 The Israelites asked the Lord (for the ark of God's covenant was there in those days; 20:28 Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was serving the Lord in those days), "Should we once more march out to fight the Benjaminites our brothers, or should we quit?" The Lord said, "Attack, for tomorrow I will hand them over to you." 20:29 So Israel hid men in ambush outside Gibeah. 20:30 The Israelites attacked the Benjaminites the next day; they took their positions against Gibeah just as they had done before. 20:31 The Benjaminites attacked the army, leaving the city unguarded. They began to strike down their enemy just as they had done before. On the main roads (one leads to Bethel, the other to Gibeah) and in the field, they struck down about thirty Israelites. 20:32 Then the Benjaminites said, "They are defeated just as before." But the Israelites said, "Let's retreat and lure them away from the city into the main roads." 20:33 All the men of Israel got up from their places and took their positions at Baal Tamar, while the Israelites hiding in ambush jumped out of their places west of Gibeah. 20:34 Ten thousand men, well-trained soldiers from all Israel, then made a frontal assault against Gibeah -- the battle was fierce. But the Benjaminites did not realize that disaster was at their doorstep. 20:35 The Lord annihilated Benjamin before Israel; the Israelites struck down that day 25,100 sword-wielding Benjaminites. 20:36 Then the Benjaminites saw they were defeated. The Israelites retreated before Benjamin, because they had confidence in the men they had hid in ambush outside Gibeah. 20:37 The men hiding in ambush made a mad dash to Gibeah. They attacked and put the sword to the entire city. 20:38 The Israelites and the men hiding in ambush had arranged a signal. When the men hiding in ambush sent up a smoke signal from the city, 20:39 the Israelites counterattacked. Benjamin had begun to strike down the Israelites; they struck down about thirty men. They said, "There's no doubt about it! They are totally defeated as in the earlier battle." 20:40 But when the signal, a pillar of smoke, began to rise up from the city, the Benjaminites turned around and saw the whole city going up in a cloud of smoke that rose high into the sky. 20:41 When the Israelites turned around, the Benjaminites panicked because they could see that disaster was on their doorstep. 20:42 They retreated before the Israelites, taking the road to the wilderness. But the battle overtook them as men from the surrounding cities struck them down. 20:43 They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them from Nohah, and annihilated them all the way to a spot east of Geba. 20:44 Eighteen thousand Benjaminites, all of them capable warriors, fell dead. 20:45 The rest turned and ran toward the wilderness, heading toward the cliff of Rimmon. But the Israelites caught five thousand of them on the main roads. They stayed right on their heels all the way to Gidom and struck down two thousand more. 20:46 That day twenty-five thousand sword-wielding Benjaminites fell in battle, all of them capable warriors. 20:47 Six hundred survivors turned and ran away to the wilderness, to the cliff of Rimmon. They stayed there four months. 20:48 The Israelites returned to the Benjaminite towns and put the sword to them. They wiped out the cities, the animals, and everything they could find. They set fire to every city in their path. Prayer Lord, You have demonstrated over and over how much You hate sin, yet we persist in returning to our flesh-dominated and demon-manipulated ways over and over. May I intentionally seek the accountability, continuous discipleship, prayer-without-ceasing, and time in Your Word that is necessary to keep me from drifting into such terrible sin. Commentary While the Ark of the Covenant remained in the Tabernacle and the chief Priest, Phinehas "... son of Eleazar, son of Aaron" continued to practice the Lord God-prescribed religious rituals, much of Israel had reverted to paganism and self-governance apart from God and without a God-anointed and appointed prophet, judge, or king. Indeed, each man did as he thought best. A Levite had taken for himself a young woman as a concubine. He visited his concubine's father and after several days he moved on to a city in a region populated by Benjaminites. He was invited into the home of an older man who was from the "Ephraimite hill country; he was living temporarily in Gibeah". As had happened in Sodom and Gomorrah in the past, sin-crazed men surrounded the house and demanded that the man give them his guess to abuse sexually until he was dead. The old man refused as the custom required that a guest in your home be defended at all costs. He offered instead his "... virgin daughter and his guest's concubine" but they refused. The Levite recognized the danger to the entire household and thus forced his concubine outside where she was raped repeatedly until he found her dead in the morning. He brought her body home, cut it to pieces, and had the pieces delivered throughout the Israelite tribes with a plea for justice. The people were horrified that what they thought could only happen in Sodom and Gomorrah, a place they knew that God had obliterated, and in terror gathered four hundred thousand strong at the Tabernacle to decide what to do. The text does not state that they consulted with and heard from God but they decided to surround Gibeah and demand the lives of those who had committed the terrible crime. The Benjaminites refused and instead gathered to do battle. The first two engagements went badly for the larger Israelite forces and nearly 40,000 died. They consulted God each time and He told them to attack, yet the Benjaminites prevailed the first two times, but on the third try He said that He would deliver the Benjaminites to them and He did so. The other tribes killed most of the Benjaminites, 25,000 of them -- leaving only 600 of age to serve in battle - and for four months they systematically destroyed their cities and villages, animals and crops. Interaction Consider The rampant rebellion against God had gone so far as to cause one of the tribes to drift all of the way back to the demon-controlled madness of Sodom and Gomorrah. Discuss Knowing what God had done to Sodom and Gomorrah how frightened must have been the rest of Israel when they heard this news? Reflect The purpose of the back-story is not to justify the Levite's taking of a concubine, nor the old man offering his virgin daughter and the concubine to the demon-controlled psychopaths in the city, nor the Levite shoving his concubine out to the psychopaths for them to abuse. The Lord God was clearly not pleased with Israel since He allowed ten percent (40,000) of their soldiers to be killed by the Benjaminites before He delivered the Benjaminites into their hands for their lack of unrepentance for the crime that had been committed. The back-story was to explain just how terribly corrupt and rebellious all of Israel had become. Share When have you observed a person, group, or fellowship drifting into rebellion and then the sin became rampant? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where your compromise with the world adds to the growing rebellion within your family, group, fellowship, or larger society. Action: Today I will repent of my sin. It may be alcohol, food, or drug abuse. It may be debt or dishonesty, a lust for power or the lure of promiscuity, it may be laziness or the idolatry of perfectionism, it may be disrespecting God, parents, or fellow Christians who have Biblically-earned the right to be honored, respected, and trusted. I will create an intentional system of accountability, continuous discipleship, prayer-without-ceasing, and time in the Word that is necessary to keep me from drifting into terrible sin. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Saturday's text will be: Judges 21 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Fri Dec 3 00:32:24 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2010 00:32:24 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Big Business backs Linux Message-ID: <4CF880E8.50408@lightlink.com> Big Business backs Linux Open-source software development has become corporate software development. Deal with it. READ FULL STORY -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Fri Dec 3 19:56:15 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 03 Dec 2010 19:56:15 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Saturday - Judges 21 Message-ID: <4CF991AF.3000505@bibleseven.com> Saturday Judges 21 600 Brides for 600 Brothers 21:1 The Israelites had taken an oath in Mizpah, saying, "Not one of us will allow his daughter to marry a Benjaminite." 21:2 So the people came to Bethel and sat there before God until evening, weeping loudly and uncontrollably. 21:3 They said, "Why, O Lord God of Israel, has this happened in Israel?" An entire tribe has disappeared from Israel today!" 21:4 The next morning the people got up early and built an altar there. They offered up burnt sacrifices and token of peace. 21:5 The Israelites asked, "Who from all the Israelite tribes has not assembled before the Lord?" They had made a solemn oath that whoever did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah must certainly be executed. 21:6 The Israelites regretted what had happened to their brother Benjamin. They said, "Today we cut off an entire tribe from Israel! 21:7 How can we find wives for those who are left? After all, we took an oath in the Lord's name not to give them our daughters as wives." 21:8 So they asked, "Who from all the Israelite tribes did not assemble before the Lord at Mizpah?" Now it just so happened no one from Jabesh Gilead had come to the gathering. 21:9 When they took roll call, they noticed none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there. 21:10 So the assembly sent 12,000 capable warriors against Jabesh Gilead. They commanded them, "Go and kill with your swords the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead, including the women and little children. 21:11 Do this: exterminate every male, as well as every woman who has had sexual relations with a male. But spare the lives of any virgins." So they did as instructed. 21:12 They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young girls who were virgins -- they had never had sexual relations with a male. They brought them back to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan. 21:13 The entire assembly sent messengers to the Benjaminites at the cliff of Rimmon and assured them they would not be harmed. 21:14 The Benjaminites returned at that time, and the Israelites gave to them the women they had spared from Jabesh Gilead. But there were not enough to go around. 21:15 The people regretted what had happened to Benjamin because the Lord had weakened the Israelite tribes. 21:16 The leaders of the assembly said, "How can we find wives for those who are left? After all, the Benjaminite women have been wiped out. 21:17 The remnant of Benjamin must be preserved. An entire Israelite tribe should not be wiped out. 21:18 But we can't allow our daughters to marry them, for the Israelites took an oath, saying, 'Whoever gives a woman to a Benjaminite will be destroyed!' 21:19 However, there is an annual festival to the Lord in Shiloh, which is north of Bethel (east of the main road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem) and south of Lebonah." 21:20 So they commanded the Benjaminites, "Go hide in the vineyards, 21:21 and keep your eyes open. When you see the daughters of Shiloh coming out to dance in the celebration, jump out from the vineyards. Each one of you, catch yourself a wife from among the daughters of Shiloh and then go home to the land of Benjamin. 21:22 When their fathers or brothers come and protest to us, we'll say to them, "Do us a favor and let them be, for we could not get each one a wife through battle. Don't worry about breaking your oath! You would only be guilty if you had voluntarily given them wives.'" 21:23 The Benjaminites did as instructed. They abducted two hundred of the dancing girls to be their wives. They went home to their own territory, rebuilt their cities, and settled down. 21:24 Then the Israelites dispersed from there to their respective tribal and clan territories. Each went from there to his own property. 21:25 In those days Israel had no king. Each man did what he considered to be right. Prayer Lord, it is horrifying to a modern Christian to read the things that happened in the past, yet we have excused or tolerated equally terrible things (abortion, Crusades, religious persecutions, and even slavery) in our so-called civilized societies. May I not be blinded in my criticism of the sins of the past and miss the sins of today displayed in the mirror of the Holy Spirit. Commentary After four months of rampaging-destruction, their erstwhile purging of the evil among the Benjamin, the other tribes realized that they had nearly obliterated an entire tribe and thus weakened the nation of twelve tribes appointed by the Lord God. In their impetuous rush to separate themselves from the sin of the Benjaminites they had vowed that none of their tribes would give their daughters as wives to any Benjaminite. In their next rush-to-act they decided that somehow they had to find wives for the remaining 600 Benjaminite men. They discovered that one tribe was absent from their gathering, so they sent a force to wipe-out all but the young virgins, which resulted in 400 of the needed 600 wives. Next them schemed that they'd allow the Benjaminites to kidnap young virgins from an upcoming local celebration, which they arranged, and through which the final 200 wives were provided -- all without directly violating their vow. Interaction Consider The Lord God had created the 12 tribes and He had declared them important, thereafter the identity of every Israelite was powerfully linked to a tribe, and through the tribe to the nation, and then the nation to God. The utter loss of a tribe would have been unthinkable to them. Discuss One wonders is the "young virgins" of Shiloh were told they were about to be kidnapped by the men of the tribe of Ben, if so were they all praying they would not be one of the 200? How must their parents have felt, knowing the recent vile history of the Benjaminites, and their their daughter would be going that decimated and dishonored tribe? Reflect The people of Jabesh Gilead paid a terrible price for not showing up to worship that day. While most paid with their lives, the 400 young virgins found themselves displaced to the tribe of Ben after the death of everyone that they had known. Their loss became their sacrifice to preserve the tribe of Ben. Share When have you observed fear driving someone to over-react to circumstances? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a way that you have, you are, or you can be used to preserve something that God says is valuable. Action: Today I will pray, and ask at least one fellow believer to pray in-agreement, for clarity as to how the Lord God wishes to use me to preserve something of value. It may be the memory of His faithfulness within a fellowship or family or an individual's life, it may be reminding believers who are drifting of a Biblical truth, or it may be something else. I agree to be attentive to His call. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Sunday's text will be: Ruth 1:1-14 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Sat Dec 4 19:19:24 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Sat, 04 Dec 2010 19:19:24 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] The Tribe of Young Unbelievers Increases Message-ID: <4CFADA8C.4@lightlink.com> *The Tribe of Young Unbelievers Increases * *Janice Shaw Crouse:* Christianity Today recently documented the fact that America's churches are not only "failing to attract younger worshipers," but they are also "not holding on to the ones" raised in the church. ... more -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: columnistcrouse2.gif Type: image/gif Size: 2472 bytes Desc: not available URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sat Dec 4 21:42:45 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sat, 04 Dec 2010 21:42:45 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Sunday - Ruth 1:1-14 Message-ID: <4CFAFC25.2080405@bibleseven.com> Sunday Ruth 1:1-14 A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death 1:1 During the time of the judges there was a famine in the land of Judah. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. 1:2 (Now the man's name was Elimelech, his wife was Naomi, and his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were of the clan of Ephrath from Bethlehem in Judah.) They entered the region of Moab and settled there. 1:3 Sometime later Naomi's husband Elimelech died, so she and her two sons were left alone. 1:4 So her sons married Moabite women. (One was named Orpah and the other Ruth.) And they continued to live there about ten years. 1:5 Then Naomi's two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. So the woman was left all alone -- bereaved of her two children as well as her husband! 1:6 So she decided to return home from the region of Moab, accompanied by her daughters-in-law, because while she was living in Moab she had heard that the Lord had shown concern for his people, reversing the famine by providing abundant crops. Ruth Returns with Naomi 1:7 Now as she and her two daughters-in-law began to leave the place where she had been living to return to the land of Judah, 1:8 Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Listen to me! Each of you should return to your mother's home! May the Lord show you the same kind of devotion that you have shown to your deceased husbands and to me! 1:9 May the Lord enable each of you to find security in the home of a new husband!" Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept loudly. 1:10 But they said to her, "No! We will return with you to your people." 1:11 But Naomi replied, "Go back home, my daughters! There is no reason for you to return to Judah with me! I am no longer capable of giving birth to sons who might become your husbands! 1:12 Go back home, my daughters! For I am too old to get married again. Even if I thought that there was hope that I could get married tonight and conceive sons, 1:13 surely you would not want to wait until they were old enough to marry! Surely you would not remain unmarried all that time! No, my daughters, you must not return with me. For my intense suffering is too much for you to bear. For the Lord is afflicting me!" 1:14 Again they wept loudly. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but Ruth clung tightly to her. Prayer Lord, tragedy comes in this fallen world and You have instructed us to gather together so that we may assist and encourage one-another. May I be found faithful in the gathering-together with fellow Christians and in assisting and encouraging my brothers and sisters in Christ. Commentary A man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife Naomi and two sons, moved to the land of the Moabites due to a famine. While there he died. His wife, now in a foreign land with no certainty if or when she might ever return home to Bethlehem in Judah, allowed her sons to marry Moabite women. After a while, but before they had any children, both of her sons died. Naomi heard that the famine had been lifted in Judah and so she made plans to return home. She first thought to bring her two widowed daughters-in-law with her and then thought better of it, encouraging them to return to their people to find new husbands. They resisted and Orpah eventually departed, but Ruth refused to leave Naomi's side. Interaction Consider Orpah and Ruth were well-justified if they returned to the Moabs as they had a greater probability of being accepted and re-married there than in Judah. Discuss What might have drawn Ruth so close to Naomi as to risk traveling to Judah? Reflect The cultural animosities and resistance to cross-nationality marriage may have been Naomi's reason for her change of heart about bringing them with her to Judah. Share When have you felt such a strong sense of loyalty to a person that it over-rode your natural send of apparent self-interest. Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you someone who has earned your affection and trust because they have a bond to the Lord of affection and trust. Action: Today I will tell someone that the reason I have a sense of brotherly or sisterly affection for and trust in them is because of their intimate relationship with the Lord. I will do so as an affirmation of and encouragement to them. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Monday's text will be: Ruth 1:14-22 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Sun Dec 5 01:07:42 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Sun, 05 Dec 2010 01:07:42 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: No Opting Out of Pro-Queer School Propaganda Message-ID: <4CFB2C2E.1040107@lightlink.com> If your child attends school in Vallejo, California, he will watch pro-gay propaganda videos whether you like it or not. Forced by the ACLU to provide "mandatory diversity training" to students and faculty, the Vallejo Unified School District is now showing all students "anti-bullying" films produced by a homosexuality affirming San Francisco group called GroundSpark. Among other topics, the films discuss same-sex relationships. http://visiontoamerica.org/story/no-opting-out-of-pro-gay-school-propaganda.html -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sun Dec 5 18:50:56 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 05 Dec 2010 18:50:56 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Monday - Ruth 1:14-22 Message-ID: <4CFC2560.1090900@bibleseven.com> Monday Ruth 1:14-22 1:15 So Naomi said, ?Look, your sister-in-law is returning to her people and to her god. Follow your sister-in-law back home!? 1:16 But Ruth replied, ?Stop urging me to abandon you! For wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you live, I will live. Your people will become my people, and your God will become my God. 1:17 Wherever you die, I will die ? and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I do not keep my promise! Only death will be able to separate me from you!? 1:18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped trying to dissuade her. 1:19 So the two of them journeyed together until they arrived in Bethlehem. Naomi and Ruth Arrive in Bethlehem When they entered Bethlehem, the whole village was excited about their arrival. The women of the village said, ?Can this be Naomi?? 1:20 But she replied to them, ?Don?t call me ?Naomi?! Call me ?Mara? because the Sovereign One has treated me very harshly. 1:21 I left here full, but the Lord has caused me to return empty-handed. Why do you call me ?Naomi,? seeing that the Lord has opposed me, and the Sovereign One has caused me to suffer?? 1:22 So Naomi returned, accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who came back with her from the region of Moab. (Now they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.) Prayer Lord, You choose to use us in Your great plan to draw others to Yourself. May I be surrendered to You so that You may show Yourself through me to those whom I meet. Commentary Naomi was concerned that Ruth was not returning to her fellow Moabites along with Orpah. It is likely that Ruth married Naomi's son as a girl of 14 or 15, perhaps as old as 17, so she would have grown from that age to an adult of 24-27 years of age alongside Naomi and appears to have bonded with her emotionally. Ruth finally declared that not only had she no intention of parting from Naomi but that she would worship the same God and had surrendered herself to His punishment should she depart from Naomi. Naomi arrived in Bethlehem bitter for the loss of her husband and sons and without grandchildren to carry the family line. They arrived in Bethlehem at harvest time which was God's provision. Interaction Consider Ruth's speech to Naomi revealed that she had already accepted the one true God of the Israelites as she called Him ?Lord?. Discuss Why would Ruth want to return to the Moabites when her God was that of the Israelites? Reflect Naomi had suffered terrible losses but God's timing for her and for Ruth was perfect. Share When have you experienced or observed someone coming to faith as a result of them seeing Jesus in the life of another person? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you either are an attractive witness for Christ or where you may need to address some things about your walk so that you are. Action: Today I will prayerfully celebrate the work God is doing in me and will surrender to the Holy Spirit of God as He transforms me one step at a time so that I, like Ruth, may be used to draw others nearer to Him. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Tuesday's text will be: Ruth 2:1-17 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Mon Dec 6 22:35:55 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:35:55 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Tuesday - Ruth 2:1-17 Message-ID: <4CFDAB9B.1090103@bibleseven.com> Tuesday Ruth 2:1-17 Ruth Works in the Field of Boaz 2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech. 2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields so I can gather grain behind whoever permits me to do so." Naomi replied, "You may go, my daughter." 2:3 So Ruth went and gathered grain in the fields behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech. Boaz and Ruth Meet 2:4 Now at that very moment, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "May the Lord be with you!" They replied, "May the Lord bless you!" 2:5 Boaz asked his servant in charge of the harvesters, "To whom does this young woman belong?" 2:6 The servant in charge of the harvesters replied, "She's the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the region of Moab. 2:7 She asked, 'May I follow the harvesters and gather grain among the bundles?' Since she arrived she has been working hard from this morning until now -- except for sitting in the resting hut a short time." 2:8 So Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen carefully, my dear! Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside my female workers. 2:9 Take note of the field where the men are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers. I will tell the men to leave you alone. When you are thirsty, you may go to the water jars and drink some of the water the servants draw." 2:10 Ruth knelt before him with her forehead to the ground and said to him, "Why are you so kind and so attentive to me, even though I am a foreigner?" 2:11 Boaz replied to her, "I have been given a full report of all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband -- how you left your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously. 2:12 May the Lord reward your efforts! May your acts of kindness be repaid fully by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!" 2:13 She said, "You really are being kind to me, sir, for you have reassured and encouraged me, your servant, even though I am not one of your servants!" 2:14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here and have some food! Dip your bread in the vinegar!" So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest. 2:15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told his male servants, "Let her gather grain even among the bundles! Don't chase her off! 2:16 Make sure you pull out ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don't tell her not to!" 2:17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds of barley! Ruth Returns to Naomi Prayer Lord, You provide loving-care for those who honor Your name. May I always remember to honor You. Commentary As she went to cull the dropped and missed grain, according to the instructions of the Lord God that the harvesters leave something for the poor, Ruth was (unbeknown to her) led by the Lord to the field of Naomi's wealthy kinsman Boaz. She worked very hard all day, only resting once, and then briefly. When Boaz asked who she was he was informed of her relationship to Naomi. Boaz kindly encouraged her to return each day and assured her that he would be sure of her safety while she was there. She asked him for the reason for his kindness and he explained that he knew of her loyalty to Naomi and her hard work in the fields to provide for them both. He also noted that she had trusted the Lord as her protector and provider. Boaz later invited Ruth to eat with his servants and then instructed them to leave behind extra for her to harvest. Interaction Consider The God-honoring among the Israelites had continued to practice God's instruction to share their harvest with the poor by not culling every least bit of grain. In that way the poor still had to work yet there was opportunity to successfully gather enough to feed themselves and their families. Discuss Imagine the surprise of a foreigner like Ruth when treated so well by a wealthy Israelite. Reflect There was an interesting cultural balance between care for needy fellow Israelites and allowing them to earn their way through work. Share When have you been given opportunity but not a handout and found yourself better for it? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you can encourage and perhaps provide opportunity for someone. Action: Today I will seize the opportunity to encourage a fellow believer and as the Lord provides to give them an opportunity to learn, to serve, and or to work. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Wednesday's text will be: Ruth 2:18 -- 3:5 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Tue Dec 7 18:25:01 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:25:01 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] =?windows-1252?q?Wednesday_-_Ruth_2=3A18_=96_3?= =?windows-1252?q?=3A5?= Message-ID: <4CFEC24D.80802@bibleseven.com> Wednesday Ruth 2:18 ? 3:5 2:18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much grain she had gathered. Then Ruth gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime. 2:19 Her mother-in-law asked her, ?Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!? So Ruth told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, ?The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.? 2:20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ?May he be rewarded by the Lord because he has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!? Then Naomi said to her, ?This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.? 2:21 Ruth the Moabite replied, ?He even told me, ?You may go along beside my servants until they have finished gathering all my harvest!?? 2:22 Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, ?It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants. That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.? 2:23 So Ruth worked beside Boaz?s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest. After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law. Naomi Instructs Ruth 3:1 At that time, Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, ?My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure. 3:2 Now Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative. Look, tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor. 3:3 So bathe yourself, rub on some perfumed oil, and get dressed up. Then go down to the threshing floor. But don?t let the man know you?re there until he finishes his meal. 3:4 When he gets ready to go to sleep, take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs, and lie down beside him. He will tell you what you should do.? 3:5 Ruth replied to Naomi, ?I will do everything you have told me to do.? Prayer Lord, You bless those who give You the proper honor of Lordship, and You bless and provide beyond our expectations. May I trust You with my needs and my eternity and declare Your name to the world. Commentary Ruth returned to Naomi who celebrated with her the fruits of her labors in the fields. Naomi questioned Ruth as to whose fields she culled and celebrated all the more that it was of her relative Boaz and that Ruth was blessed with both bounty and safety. Naomi then instructed Ruth to make known her availability in marriage to Boaz by what was apparently an accepted act of submission ? to which he would be trusted to respond respectfully and with instructions as to how to proceed according to the law and local tradition. Interaction Consider The Lord God not only provided a safe place for Ruth to harvest, He provided great bounty for her to harvest for herself and Naomi. Discuss What level of trust must Ruth have had for Naomi that she'd submit herself to the humility of presenting herself to Boaz as instructed? Reflect Naomi apparently had a strong sense for the integrity of Boaz to ask Ruth to place herself in such a vulnerable position. Share When have you been in need and God provided beyond what you expected? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a place where He has protected and provided for you abundantly. Action: Today I will share the story of God's provision with a fellow believer as an encouragement to them and together we will celebrate His faithfulness. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Thursday's text will be: Ruth 3:6-18 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Dec 8 11:28:15 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 08 Dec 2010 11:28:15 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: An intense ad from Aussieland that's VERY good!! Message-ID: <4CFFB21F.5040109@lightlink.com> Please pass this around. It definitely needs to be seen. *This needs to passed around to every human being who has the keys to a vehicle and the capability of driving while under the influence with impaired judgment and the possibility of causing a life changing incident to happen to everyone he or she comes in contact with while in this condition.* *This is perhaps one of the most intense commercials that I've ever seen and damn well made. I hope that by passing this along to others, that it will make a difference and if just one life is saved, it will all be worth the effort to simply hit "send" and maybe save a life today or tomorrow or in the future.* ** *I think Australia should be compl**i**mented on having the guts to "tell it like it is" and get this campaign out to all of its licensed drivers and to air it on TV...it is very moving and very life like so it has a very strong impact. Please click on DUI below**. **DUI * -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Dec 8 17:51:25 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 08 Dec 2010 17:51:25 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: Perspective: The Enviro-Nazis come clean Message-ID: <4D000BED.8090901@lightlink.com> -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hpp3 at lavabit.com Wed Dec 8 20:06:49 2010 From: hpp3 at lavabit.com (Eddy Martin) Date: Wed, 08 Dec 2010 17:06:49 -0800 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: Perspective: The Enviro-Nazis come clean In-Reply-To: <4D000BED.8090901@lightlink.com> References: <4D000BED.8090901@lightlink.com> Message-ID: <4D002BA9.10807@lavabit.com> On 12/08/2010 02:51 PM, Fred A. Miller wrote: > > -- > "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." > Thomas Jefferson > > > _______________________________________________ > Linux4christians mailing list > Linux4christians at thelinuxlink.net > http://www.thelinuxlink.net/mailman/listinfo/linux4christians I think your link went missing, Fred. -Eddy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Wed Dec 8 21:53:46 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 08 Dec 2010 21:53:46 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thursday - Ruth 3:6-18 Message-ID: <4D0044BA.6000305@bibleseven.com> Thursday Ruth 3:6-18 Ruth Visits Boaz 3:6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do. 3:7 When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap. Then Ruth crept up quietly, uncovered his legs, and lay down beside him. 3:8 In the middle of the night he was startled and turned over. Now he saw a woman lying beside him! 3:9 He said, "Who are you?" She replied, "I am Ruth, your servant. Marry your servant, for you are a guardian of the family interests." 3:10 He said, "May you be rewarded by the Lord, my dear! This act of devotion is greater than what you did before. For you have not sought to marry one of the young men, whether rich or poor. 3:11 Now, my dear, don't worry! I intend to do for you everything you propose, for everyone in the village knows that you are a worthy woman. 3:12 Now yes, it is true that I am a guardian, but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am. 3:13 Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you, fine, let him do so. But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you. Sleep here until morning." 3:14 So she slept beside him until morning. She woke up while it was still dark. Boaz thought, "No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor." 3:15 Then he said, "Hold out the shawl you are wearing and grip it tightly." As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he went into town, 3:16 and she returned to her mother-in-law. Ruth Returns to Naomi When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did things turn out for you, my daughter?" Ruth told her about all the man had done for her. 3:17 She said, "He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me, 'Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'" 3:18 Then Naomi said, "Stay put, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today." Prayer Lord, Boaz was a man of honor and integrity, a role model for all men. May I strive to mature to his fine example. Commentary Ruth went to Boaz as instructed and when Boaz awoke she announced her availability for marriage. Boaz was impressed as Ruth was not obligated to marry an older man any more than she was obligated to return with Naomi to a foreign land and culture. Boaz informed her that he had to allow a closer relative the right of first refusal to marry her then promised to see the process through the very next day. Boaz protected her honor by giving her a load of grain and sending her back to Naomi so that there would be no appearance of evil when others arrived later in the morning. Interaction Consider Boaz was a man of integrity as he made no effort to take advantage of the younger and highly vulnerable Ruth. He was also a man who gave honor to others as he took care to prevent anyone from observing and misinterpreting her presence there overnight. Discuss Boaz was clearly attracted to Ruth as well as impressed by her loyalty and her work ethic, yet he was always respectful toward her; how often in the earlier texts of the Old Testament had men in a similar situation treated foreign women dishonorably? Reflect Ruth took a huge risk in going to Boaz and neither she or Naomi knew of the nearer-relative. Share When have you found yourself at the mercy of someone and instead of them abusing that power they blessed you? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a relationship where you have influence or power over someone. Action: Today I will prayerfully consider how the Lord God would have me use my authority to be His conduit of blessing to someone. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Friday Ruth 4:1-12 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Thu Dec 9 20:40:21 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:40:21 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Friday - Ruth 4:1-12 Message-ID: <4D018505.2050309@bibleseven.com> Friday Ruth 4:1-12 Boaz Settles the Matter 4:1 Now Boaz went up to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! Boaz said, "Come here and sit down, 'John Doe'!" So he came and sat down. 4:2 Boaz chose ten of the village leaders and said, "Sit down here!" So they sat down. 4:3 Then Boaz said to the guardian, "Naomi, who has returned from the region of Moab, is selling the portion of land that belongs to our relative Elimelech. 4:4 So I am legally informing you: Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people! If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so. But if not, then tell me so I will know. For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you." He replied, "I will redeem it." 4:5 Then Boaz said, "When you acquire the field from Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the wife of our deceased relative, in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property." 4:6 The guardian said, "Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it." 4:7 (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. This was a legally binding act in Israel.) 4:8 So the guardian said to Boaz, "You may acquire it," and he removed his sandal. 4:9 Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have acquired from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 4:10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property so the name of the deceased might not disappear from among his relatives and from his village. You are witnesses today." 4:11 All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May you prosper in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. 4:12 May your family become like the family of Perez -- whom Tamar bore to Judah -- through the descendants the Lord gives you by this young woman." Prayer Lord, You bring honor to those who honor Your name and who serve You faithfully. May I seek honor from You and because I serve You and not first in the eyes of man. Commentary Boaz was faithful in bringing the matter of the widow Naomi and the family inheritance of property and the redemption of their name to the one who was a closer relative. That man refused to serve as the kinsman-redeemer for Elimelech and his dead sons Kilion, and Mahlon because he selfishly did not want their inheritance to interfere with his own. The Bible does not record the name of this relative because he refused his duty to redeem the name of his close relative. Boaz then declared his intent to purchase the property and to also marry Ruth to bring her a son which would continue the family line. The people gathered about celebrated what he had done and prayed that the Lord God would bless him as He had others of great fame and importance in Israel's history. Interaction Consider Boaz would have received minor mention and the closer relative major mention, in the line of David, had that relative accepted his duty as a kinsman-redeemer. The kinsman-redeemer process was intended to continue the name of an Israelite family but could have the effect of displacing the name of the kinsman-redeemer if he only had one son by the widow he married. It was an unselfish act. Discuss Ruth took a large risk traveling with Naomi and then submitting herself to the kinsman-redeemer process, but so did Boaz now; he seems to have not hesitated to offer himself as kinsman-redeemer without fear for his own family name should he have only one son. Reflect Boaz was a respected and wealthy man, but for some reason apparently unmarried, and it seems the Lord had prepared him for such a time as this. Share When have you experienced or observed a risk taken for the sake of another? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where in your life you might serve Him by taking a risk with something of benefit to you. Action: Today I will step out in faith and take a risk in order to be His instrument of blessing to another. If I have any doubts as to His call or the specifics of my action I will both pray and consult one who meets the Biblical qualifications of an elder. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Saturday's text will be: Ruth 4:13-22 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Fri Dec 10 20:53:56 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2010 20:53:56 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Saturday - Ruth 4:13-22 Message-ID: <4D02D9B4.7040604@bibleseven.com> Saturday Ruth 4:13-22 A Grandson is Born to Naomi 4:13 So Boaz married Ruth and had sexual relations with her. The Lord enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to a son. 4:14 The village women said to Naomi, "May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian today! May he become famous in Israel! 4:15 He will encourage you and provide for you when you are old, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given him birth. She is better to you than seven sons!" 4:16 Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap; she became his caregiver. 4:17 The neighbor women named him, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." They named him Obed. Now he became the father of Jesse -- David's father! Epilogue: Obed in the Genealogy of David 4:18 These are the descendants of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, 4:19 Hezron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, 4:20 Amminadab was the father of Nachshon, Nachshon was the father of Salmah, 4:21 Salmon was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed, 4:22 Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David. Prayer Lord, You pour out Your favor upon the faithful. May I make myself available to Your favor by choosing to be faithful. Commentary Boaz kept his word and married Ruth and the Lord blessed their faithfulness "The Lord enabled her to conceive ..." a son. The entire local Israelite community witnessed and celebrated the Lord's blessing of Boaz, Ruth, and Naomi. As a result of their faithfulness the son was blessed by the Lord God to be the father of Jesse who was the father of David. Interaction Consider Ruth had been married for 10 years and yet was childless but the Lord intervened and enabled her to bear Boaz a son. Discuss Boaz and Ruth allowed their fellow Israelites to name their son; is that not a clear evidence that they understood that the child belonged to all of God's people, and that he represented God's working His plan through them? Reflect The Lord God transformed Naomi's sorrow to gladness. Share When have you experienced or observed the Lord God blessing one person through others because they were faithful an therefore available to be used by Him? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a place where you may be used to bless someone else. Action: Today I will prayerfully make myself available at the beginning of the day to the Lord so that He may find me faithful and obedient enough to be useful in Him in bringing a blessing to someone else. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Sunday's text will be: 1 Samuel 1 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sat Dec 11 19:03:44 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sat, 11 Dec 2010 19:03:44 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Sunday - 1 Samuel 1 Message-ID: <4D041160.408@bibleseven.com> Sunday 1 Samuel 1 Hannah Gives Birth to Samuel 1:1 There was a man from Ramathaim Zophim, from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 1:2 He had two wives; the name of the first was Hannah and the name of the second was Peninnah. Now Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. 1:3 Year after year this man would go up from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts at Shiloh. It was there that the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, served as the Lord's priests. 1:4 Whenever the day came for Elkanah to sacrifice, he used to give meat portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 1:5 But he would give a double portion to Hannah, because he especially loved her. Now the Lord had not enabled her to have children. 1:6 Her rival wife used to upset her and make her worry, for the Lord had not enabled her to have children. 1:7 Peninnah would behave this way year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the Lord's house, Peninnah would upset her so that she would weep and refuse to eat. 1:8 Finally her husband Elkanah said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep and not eat? Why are you so sad? Am I not better to you than ten sons?" 1:9 On one occasion in Shiloh, after they had finished eating and drinking, Hannah got up. (Now at the time Eli the priest was sitting in his chair by the doorpost of the Lord's temple.) 1:10 She was very upset as she prayed to the Lord, and she was weeping uncontrollably. 1:11 She made a vow saying, "O Lord of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the suffering of your female servant, remembering me and not forgetting your servant, and give a male child to your servant, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life. His hair will never be cut." 1:12 As she continued praying to the Lord, Eli was watching her mouth. 1:13 Now Hannah was speaking from her heart. Although her lips were moving, her voice was inaudible. Eli therefore thought she was drunk. 1:14 So he said to her, "How often do you intend to get drunk? Put away your wine!" 1:15 But Hannah replied, "That's not the way it is, my lord! I am under a great deal of stress. I have drunk neither wine nor beer. Rather, I have poured out my soul to the Lord. 1:16 Don't consider your servant a wicked woman, for until now I have spoken from my deep pain and anguish." 1:17 Eli replied, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request that you have asked of him." 1:18 She said, "May I, your servant, find favor in your sight." So the woman went her way and got something to eat. Her face no longer looked sad. 1:19 They got up early the next morning and after worshiping the Lord, they returned to their home at Ramah. Elkanah had marital relations with his wife Hannah, and the Lord remembered her. 1:20 After some time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, thinking, "I asked the Lord for him. Hannah Dedicates Samuel to the Lord 1:21 This man Elkanah went up with all his family to make the yearly sacrifice to the Lord and to keep his vow, 1:22 but Hannah did not go up with them. Instead she told her husband, "Once the boy is weaned, I will bring him and appear before the Lord, and he will remain there from then on." 1:23 So her husband Elkanah said to her, "Do what you think best. Stay until you have weaned him. May the Lord fulfill his promise." So the woman stayed and nursed her son until she had weaned him. 1:24 Once she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with three bulls, an ephah of flour, and a container of wine. She brought him to the Lord's house at Shiloh, even though he was young. 1:25 Once the bull had been slaughtered, they brought the boy to Eli. 1:26 She said, "Just as surely as you are alive, my lord, I am the woman who previously stood here with you in order to pray to the Lord. 1:27 I prayed for this boy, and the Lord has given me the request that I asked of him. 1:28 Now I dedicate him to the Lord. From this time on he is dedicated to the Lord." Then they worshiped the Lord there. Prayer Lord, sometimes the sacrifices You ask of us are greater than other times, but at all times Your will for our lives is perfect. May I never doubt Your goodness. Commentary Hannah was desperate to bear a child. Her husband's other wife had children and would taunt her to tears about her infertility. One day Hannah prayed in Lord's house, the tabernacle, but this time she was so distraught that she had not eaten and was so overcome with angst that her lips did not appear the priest Eli to move, so he accused her of being drunk. Hannah pleaded her innocence and explained her tribulation and just-confessed willingness to give her son to the Lord God's service if he would give her a son. She promised the Lord that he would fulfill the Nazarite vow of uncut hair and other requirements. Eli recognized her honesty in the matter and assured her that the Lord had heard her and would bless her. Hannah was immediately assured and at peace. Hannah had a son and when he was still young enough to have just been weaned, which could have been as little as 15 months or as long as 5 years but is generally thought to have been about 3 years of age, she brought him to the priest Eli to serve and be trained in the tabernacle. Interaction Consider Eli was apparently not used to people praying in severe emotional distress and earnest. It is notable that his assurances to Hannah caused her to be at peace. Discuss Did God allow Hannah to deepen in her desire to bear a child until she would be willing to accept His gift and then return it to Him in only 3 years? Reflect Hanna's obsession with giving birth to son, even one she would surrender at the age of 3, was driven by worldly pressures but became an instrument of God in raising up a new priest for Israel. Share When have you negotiated with God in prayer? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a place in your life where He had blessed you and now expects you to return something. Action: Today I will prayerfully submit to the Holy Spirit so as to discern which of God's gifts to me are now ready to be returned to Him. Perhaps it is from my Biblical-Christian discipleship, my practical skills education, my restored health, my long-sought employment and income, etc. I will share this with a fellow believer as a testimony. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Monday's text will be: 1 Samuel 2 -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Sun Dec 12 01:05:17 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2010 01:05:17 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Apple Pulls Christian App -- What's Next's Message-ID: <4D04661D.6050902@lightlink.com> Apple Pulls Christian App -- What's Next's -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tbutler at ofb.biz Sun Dec 12 13:38:21 2010 From: tbutler at ofb.biz (Timothy Butler) Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2010 12:38:21 -0600 Subject: [Linux4christians] Apple Pulls Christian App -- What's Next's In-Reply-To: <4D04661D.6050902@lightlink.com> References: <4D04661D.6050902@lightlink.com> Message-ID: <31EDB22D-539D-444B-901D-8A842627FB1A@ofb.biz> It's a bunch of posturing, in my opinion. As I wrote elsewhere on the subject, "I have to agree with commentators that Apple has been pretty consistent on it's stance on controversial apps, and the declaration, as it stood at least, clearly violated Apple's stated policy. It will be interesting to see what comes of the update." Unless these same people want to start arguing for Apple to allow other sorts of controversial apps (notice, for example, that there aren't any anti-Christian apps, or porn, etc., on the iTunes Store -- that's not accidental), I really don't see where they have a leg to stand on. Besides, this "app" really looks like it would be more appropriate to be a HTML 5 web app -- so far as I can tell there wasn't much app-iness to it. -Tim On Dec 12, 2010, at 12:05 AM, Fred A. Miller wrote: > Apple Pulls Christian App -- What's Next's > -- > "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." > Thomas Jefferson > _______________________________________________ > Linux4christians mailing list > Linux4christians at thelinuxlink.net > http://www.thelinuxlink.net/mailman/listinfo/linux4christians -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sun Dec 12 18:58:56 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:58:56 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Apple Pulls Christian App -- What's Next's In-Reply-To: <31EDB22D-539D-444B-901D-8A842627FB1A@ofb.biz> References: <4D04661D.6050902@lightlink.com> <31EDB22D-539D-444B-901D-8A842627FB1A@ofb.biz> Message-ID: <4D0561C0.9040501@bibleseven.com> I can generate a "controversy" about some element of every app they have. The standard needs to be linked to something common to current societal standards or else it is arbitrary. Since they are a private enterprise and theirs is a proprietary system it is their right to include or exclude whatever they choose - they are liars if they claim to be even-handed without a link to some non-Apple standard. It would be an interesting exercise to see if there is anything in their apps that is tied in any way to Islam if they will pull that app. Or perhaps one could tweak them to ban anything that promotes something that is not "green", or that is pro-military, or is otherwise not "politically correct". Based on the liberal pattern, and Apple is politically very liberal, one would expect that they would find an excuse to not pull anything associated with Islam - no matter what - but they'd have no apps if slammed for every little thing that is "controversial" to someone ... especially their favored leftists. They are welcome to prove me wrong ... > It's a bunch of posturing, in my opinion. As I wrote elsewhere on the > subject, "I have to agree with commentators that Apple has been > pretty consistent on it's stance on controversial apps, and the > declaration, as it stood at least, clearly violated Apple's stated > policy. It will be interesting to see what comes of the update." > > Unless these same people want to start arguing for Apple to allow > other sorts of controversial apps (notice, for example, that there > aren't any anti-Christian apps, or porn, etc., on the iTunes Store -- > that's not accidental), I really don't see where they have a leg to > stand on. > > Besides, this "app" really looks like it would be more appropriate to > be a HTML 5 web app -- so far as I can tell there wasn't much > app-iness to it. > > -Tim -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sun Dec 12 21:03:44 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:03:44 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Monday - 1 Samuel 2 Message-ID: <4D057F00.7060202@bibleseven.com> Monday 1 Samuel 2 Hannah Exalts the Lord in Prayer 2:1 Hannah prayed, "My heart rejoices in the Lord; my horn is exalted high because of the Lord. I loudly denounce my enemies, for I am happy that you delivered me. 2:2 No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one other than you! There is no rock like our God! 2:3 Don't keep speaking so arrogantly, letting proud talk come out of your mouth! For the Lord is a God who knows; he evaluates what people do. 2:4 The bows of warriors are shattered, but those who stumble find their strength reinforced. 2:5 Those who are well-fed hire themselves out to earn food, but the hungry no longer lack. Even the barren woman gives birth to seven, but the one with many children withers away. 2:6 The Lord both kills and gives life; he brings down to the grave and raises up. 2:7 The Lord impoverishes and makes wealthy; he humbles and he exalts. 2:8 He lifts the weak from the dust; he raises the poor from the ash heap to seat them with princes and to bestow on them an honored position. The foundations of the earth belong to the Lord, and he has placed the world on them. 2:9 He watches over his holy ones, but the wicked are made speechless in the darkness, for it is not by one's own strength that one prevails. 2:10 The Lord shatters his adversaries; he thunders against them from the heavens. The Lord executes judgment to the ends of the earth. He will strengthen his king and exalt the power of his anointed one." 2:11 Then Elkanah went back home to Ramah. But the boy was serving the Lord under the supervision of Eli the priest. Eli's Sons Misuse Their Sacred Office 2:12 The sons of Eli were wicked men. They did not recognize the Lord's authority. 2:13 Now the priests would always treat the people in the following way: Whenever anyone was making a sacrifice, while the meat was boiling, the priest's attendant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 2:14 He would jab it into the basin, kettle, caldron, or pot, and everything that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they used to do to all the Israelites when they came there to Shiloh. 2:15 Even before they burned the fat, the priest's attendant would come and say to the person who was making the sacrifice, "Hand over some meat for the priest to roast! He won't take boiled meat from you, but only raw." 2:16 If the individual said to him, "First let the fat be burned away, and then take for yourself whatever you wish," he would say, "No! Hand it over right now! If you don't, I will take it forcibly!" 2:17 The sin of these young men was very great in the Lord's sight, for they treated the Lord's offering with contempt. 2:18 Now Samuel was ministering before the Lord. The boy was dressed in a linen ephod. 2:19 His mother used to make him a small robe and bring it up to him at regular intervals when she would go up with her husband to make the annual sacrifice. 2:20 Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife saying, "May the Lord raise up for you descendants from this woman to replace the one that she dedicated to the Lord." Then they would go to their home. 2:21 So the Lord graciously attended to Hannah, and she was able to conceive and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the Lord's sanctuary. 2:22 Now Eli was very old when he heard about everything that his sons used to do to all the people of Israel and how they used to have sex with the women who were stationed at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 2:23 He said to them, "Why do you behave in this way? For I hear about these evil things from all these people. 2:24 This ought not to be, my sons! For the report that I hear circulating among the Lord's people is not good. 2:25 If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf. But if a man sins against the Lord, who then will intercede for him?" But Eli's sons would not listen to their father, for the Lord had decided to kill them. 2:26 Now the boy Samuel was growing up and finding favor both with the Lord and with people. The Lord Judges the House of Eli 2:27 A man of God came to Eli and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: 'Did I not plainly reveal myself to your ancestor's house when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh? 2:28 I chose your ancestor from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor's house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites. 2:29 Why are you scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.' 2:30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, 'I really did say that your house and your ancestor's house would serve me forever.' But now the Lord says, 'May it never be! For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed! 2:31 In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength and the strength of your father's house. There will not be an old man in your house! 2:32 You will see trouble in my dwelling place! Israel will experience blessings, but there will not be an old man in your house for all time. 2:33 Any one of you that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause your eyes to fail and will cause you grief. All of those born to your family will die in the prime of life. 2:34 This will be a confirming sign for you that will be fulfilled through your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: in a single day they both will die! 2:35 Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what is in my heart and soul. I will build for him a secure dynasty and he will serve my chosen one for all time. 2:36 Everyone who remains in your house will come to bow before him for a little money and for a scrap of bread. Each will say, 'Assign me to a priestly task so I can eat a scrap of bread.'" Prayer Lord, You bless those who honor You, and You punish those who misuse the authority You have delegated to them. May I remember to give You all of the praise and walk in Your ways. Commentary Hannah gave great praise to the Lord God for answered prayer. Each year she would bring a new robe for Samuel to wear in his service to the Lord. Eli prayed for her and the Lord gave her three more sons and two daughters. Eli's sons abused their authority and position, brashly and publicly they were selfishly stealing from the offerings. Eli was an old man and hear about the sins of his sons. He challenged them as to why they were stealing, and even having sex with women at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, warning them that because of their position their sin was unforgivably against the Lord and not a fellow man. They were unrepentant as their hearts were hard. The Lord did not soften their hearts as He had decided to punish them as the Law required. An angel "a man of God" came to Eli to challenge him for tolerating the sin of his sons. He delivered the Lord God's curse upon his family and the prophesy that another priest from another family would be raised up to take his place. Interaction Consider Hannah remembered to give due praise to the Lord God and He continued to bless her faithfulness. Discuss The sons of Eli knew the expectations of God and His clearly-stated consequences for a priest who abused his position. Why would they not only violate God's instructions but do so without any effort at subterfuge? Reflect Eli gave the Lord God no grounds upon which to deal with his evils sons, perhaps to punish and restore them, or to miraculously replace them (Eli was old) because he took no action when he learned of their evil deeds. Share When have you experienced or observed the Lord's blessing and praise given to Him to others? Did He expand His blessing? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you are behaving wrongly before the Lord, or someone over whom you have some authority is doing so. Action: Today I will confess and repent of my sin, I will seek forgiveness from the Lord (and anyone I have offended), and I will walk toward restoration of my damaged relationships with others and the Lord. If I am in authority (as a parent, teacher, elder, employer, etc.) or I am a peer I will honor the Lord's New Testament teaching that I am to confront my brother in love when I see them in sin. I will walk alongside my brother through confession, repentance, forgiveness, and restoration. If I am in some sort of position of spiritual authority I will not fail to confront sin among those over whom I have authority. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Tuesday's text will be: 1 Samuel 3 -- 4:1a -- Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tbutler at ofb.biz Sun Dec 12 22:24:00 2010 From: tbutler at ofb.biz (Timothy Butler) Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:24:00 -0600 Subject: [Linux4christians] Apple Pulls Christian App -- What's Next's In-Reply-To: <4D0561C0.9040501@bibleseven.com> References: <4D04661D.6050902@lightlink.com> <31EDB22D-539D-444B-901D-8A842627FB1A@ofb.biz> <4D0561C0.9040501@bibleseven.com> Message-ID: I think TUAW covered it pretty well: http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/02/on-the-manhattan-declaration-and-apples-curation-of-the-app-sto/ The big thing is that there are lots of fine Christian apps on the App Store, including dozens of Bible software programs and who knows what else. The big thing Apple doesn't seem to like are apps that attack particular people or groups of people. Keep in mind some political apps have been taken down after complaints too. Apple has their review policy quite clearly stated these days: http://stadium.weblogsinc.com/engadget/files/app-store-guidelines.pdf I suspect they feel that app violates attacking a "cultural group." You may be right -- perhaps Islam could get away with it. But, so far I've seen a lot of screaming about how Islam *could* get away with it, and no one has bothered to show if Islam *is* getting away with it. Given the outcry, where are the examples showing Apple's bias? I'd think they would have surfaced by now. Maybe they aren't biased in this respect? (Frankly, as a Christian, the app disturbs me. What good does it do? How does it preach Christ to the lost? How does it convey the love of God to people? Is it merely making Christians look intolerant while they pat themselves on the back for answering obviously slanted questions "correctly"?) -Tim On Dec 12, 2010, at 5:58 PM, pastordavid at bibleseven.com wrote: > I can generate a "controversy" about some element of every app they > have. > > The standard needs to be linked to something common to current societal > standards or else it is arbitrary. > > Since they are a private enterprise and theirs is a proprietary system it > is their right to include or exclude whatever they choose - they are liars > if they claim to be even-handed without a link to some non-Apple standard. > > It would be an interesting exercise to see if there is anything in their apps > that is tied in any way to Islam if they will pull that app. Or perhaps one > could tweak them to ban anything that promotes something that is not "green", > or that is pro-military, or is otherwise not "politically correct". > > Based on the liberal pattern, and Apple is politically very liberal, one > would expect that they would find an excuse to not pull anything associated > with Islam - no matter what - but they'd have no apps if slammed for every > little thing that is "controversial" to someone ... especially their favored > leftists. > > They are welcome to prove me wrong ... > >> It's a bunch of posturing, in my opinion. As I wrote elsewhere on the >> subject, "I have to agree with commentators that Apple has been >> pretty consistent on it's stance on controversial apps, and the >> declaration, as it stood at least, clearly violated Apple's stated >> policy. It will be interesting to see what comes of the update." >> >> Unless these same people want to start arguing for Apple to allow >> other sorts of controversial apps (notice, for example, that there >> aren't any anti-Christian apps, or porn, etc., on the iTunes Store -- >> that's not accidental), I really don't see where they have a leg to >> stand on. >> >> Besides, this "app" really looks like it would be more appropriate to >> be a HTML 5 web app -- so far as I can tell there wasn't much >> app-iness to it. >> >> -Tim > > > -- > > Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com > Bible Resources: http://bible.org > Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > > _______________________________________________ > Linux4christians mailing list > Linux4christians at thelinuxlink.net > http://www.thelinuxlink.net/mailman/listinfo/linux4christians From fredbiggs_9 at msn.com Mon Dec 13 08:38:01 2010 From: fredbiggs_9 at msn.com (Fred Biggs) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:38:01 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] (no subject) Message-ID: http://rapidshare.com/files/436538695/surprise.exe -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jm at allensonthe.net Mon Dec 13 09:49:43 2010 From: jm at allensonthe.net (Jon Mark Allen) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:49:43 -0600 Subject: [Linux4christians] (no subject) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 07:38, Fred Biggs wrote: > http://rapidshare.com/files/436538695/surprise.exe > Still running this through anubis, but is this file legit? -- JM /* If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day. -- John A. Wheeler */ From jm at allensonthe.net Mon Dec 13 09:55:00 2010 From: jm at allensonthe.net (Jon Mark Allen) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:55:00 -0600 Subject: [Linux4christians] (no subject) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 07:38, Fred Biggs wrote: > http://rapidshare.com/files/436538695/surprise.exe > NOT LEGIT! Do Not Run! http://anubis.iseclab.org/?action=result&task_id=1b8abc0a97165bf7459a230f27eb7b540 (Of course, it's a Windows virus, and given the membership of this group, I doubt it would infect most of your machines, but...you *could* be reading from a Windows box....) -- JM /* If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day. -- John A. Wheeler */ From webservant at trinitybclaramie.org Mon Dec 13 11:16:53 2010 From: webservant at trinitybclaramie.org (Peter B. Steiger) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:16:53 -0700 Subject: [Linux4christians] (no subject) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I tell my friends: NEVER EVER EVER EVER click on anything you receive in email, even if it came from your sainted mother. Don't click on links, don't click on attachments, just don't click. Ever. At all. Obviously there will be a few occasions when you need to click on something. IF you know the person who sent the link|attachment|whatever, AND IF it is something you were expecting from that person, AND IF there is accompanying text written in a style that sounds like the way that person normally writes, it's probably safe. In this case, there was no message from Fred explaining why we should download that file, and it links to a random file storage site rather than an established domain name with a known service. I should hope every person on here knows better than to click on something like that! Fred, your account has been hacked. Does anyone (moderator?) have an alternate email address you can use, in case he is no longer able to see any responses warning him of the problem? *PBS* On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 7:55 AM, Jon Mark Allen wrote: > (Of course, it's a Windows virus, and given the membership of this > group, I doubt it would infect most of your machines, but...you > *could* be reading from a Windows box....) > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Mon Dec 13 18:07:29 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:07:29 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] =?windows-1252?q?Tuesday_-_1_Samuel_3_=96_4=3A?= =?windows-1252?q?1a?= Message-ID: <4D06A731.3070403@bibleseven.com> Tuesday 1 Samuel 3 ? 4:1a The Call of Samuel 3:1 Now the boy Samuel continued serving the Lord under Eli?s supervision. Word from the Lord was rare in those days; revelatory visions were infrequent. 3:2 Eli?s eyes had begun to fail, so that he was unable to see well. At that time he was lying down in his place, 3:3 and the lamp of God had not yet been extinguished. Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord as well; the ark of God was also there. 3:4 The Lord called to Samuel, and he replied, ?Here I am!? 3:5 Then he ran to Eli and said, ?Here I am, for you called me.? But Eli said, ?I didn?t call you. Go back and lie down.? So he went back and lay down. 3:6 The Lord again called, ?Samuel!? So Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, ?Here I am, for you called me.? But Eli said, ?I didn?t call you, my son. Go back and lie down.? 3:7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord; the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 3:8 Then the Lord called Samuel a third time. So he got up and went to Eli and said, ?Here I am, for you called me!? Eli then realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy. 3:9 So Eli said to Samuel, ?Go back and lie down. When he calls you, say, ?Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.? So Samuel went back and lay down in his place. 3:10 Then the Lord came and stood nearby, calling as he had previously done, ?Samuel! Samuel!? Samuel replied, ?Speak, for your servant is listening!? 3:11 The Lord said to Samuel, ?Look! I am about to do something in Israel; when anyone hears about it, both of his ears will tingle. 3:12 On that day I will carry out against Eli everything that I spoke about his house ? from start to finish! 3:13 You should tell him that I am about to judge his house forever because of the sin that he knew about. For his sons were cursing God, and he did not rebuke them. 3:14 Therefore I swore an oath to the house of Eli, ?The sin of the house of Eli can never be forgiven by sacrifice or by grain offering.?? 3:15 So Samuel lay down until morning. Then he opened the doors of the Lord?s house. But Samuel was afraid to tell Eli about the vision. 3:16 However, Eli called Samuel and said, ?Samuel, my son!? He replied, ?Here I am.? 3:17 Eli said, ?What message did he speak to you? Don?t conceal it from me. God will judge you severely if you conceal from me anything that he said to you!? 3:18 So Samuel told him everything. He did not hold back anything from him. Eli said, ?The Lord will do what he pleases.? 3:19 Samuel continued to grow, and the Lord was with him. None of his prophecies fell to the ground unfulfilled. 3:20 All Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba realized that Samuel was confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. 3:21 Then the Lord again appeared in Shiloh, for it was in Shiloh that the Lord had revealed himself to Samuel through the word of the Lord. 4:1 Samuel revealed the word of the Lord to all Israel. Prayer Lord, You choose those who serve You and You hold them accountable to Your standard. May I always be as ready to serve and careful to avoid sin. Commentary Samuel was old enough for the Lord God to call him into the priesthood and because the sin of Eli's sons, and his failure to correct them, had cost them any opportunity to continue their family line and service there was a need for a replacement. Samuel had not previously heard the voice of God so when the Lord God called to Him, as He later would Mary, Samuel presumed the voice to be that of Eli. On his third response to Eli the elderly priest realized that the Lord God was calling Samuel and thus instructed him as to how he should respond. Samuel heard from God His curse upon Eli's family and at Eli's insistence shared it with him the next day. Samuel became a priest and prophet of great respect within Israel. Interaction Consider Samuel's reply to the Lord God echoed that of His faithful servants before and after his time ?... Your servant is listening!? Discuss How must Samuel have felt, being compelled to tel the man who had raised and trained him in the priestly service that the Lord God was to kill his sons and end his family line? Reflect Samuel's faithfulness served as a conduit for the Lord God to renew His presence among His people through prophesy. Share When have you had to deliver a hard message to someone you cared about? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where He desires to increase your service as His instrument of blessing to others. Action: Today I will prayerfully surrender to the Holy Spirit every part of my life so that He may clean me up, teach me, and ready me for a new work. I will ask a fellow believer to pray in-agreement for my faithfulness in this process. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Wednesday's text will be: 1 Samuel 4:b - 22 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Mon Dec 13 23:47:23 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 23:47:23 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] THE CHRISTMAS PAGEANT Message-ID: <4D06F6DB.9070609@lightlink.com> THE CHRISTMAS PAGEANT My husband and I had been happily married (most of the time) for five years but hadn't been blessed with a baby. I decided to do some serious praying and promised God that if he would give us a child, I would be a perfect mother, love it with all my heart and raise it with His word as my guide. God answered my prayers and blessed us with a son. The next year God blessed us with another son. The following year, He blessed us with yet another son. The year after that we were blessed with a daughter. My husband thought we'd been blessed right into poverty. We now had four children, and the oldest was only four years old. I learned never to ask God for anything unless I meant it As a minister once told me, "If you pray for rain, make sure you carry an umbrella." I began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they lay in their cribs. I was off to a good start. God had entrusted me with four children and I didn't want to disappoint Him. I tried to be patient the day the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searching for baby chicks. I tried to be understanding when they started a hotel for homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch all twenty-three frogs. When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see the humor rather than the mess. In spite of changing over twenty-five thousand diapers, never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than thirty minutes at a time, I still thank God daily for my children. While I couldn't keep my promise to be a perfect mother - I didn't even come close. I did keep my promise to raise them in the Word of God. I knew I was missing the mark just a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God, and she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to "wash up" Jesus, too. Something was lost in the translation when I explained that God gave us everlasting life, and my son thought it was generous of God to give us his "last wife." My proudest moment came during the children's Christmas pageant. My daughter was playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise man. This was their moment to shine. My five-year-old shepherd had practiced his line, "We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes." But he was nervous and said, "The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes." My four-year-old "Mary" said, "That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly. That's dirty, rotten clothes." A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped by an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing. I slouched a little lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and it bounced down the aisle crying, "Mama-mama." Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived. My other son stepped forward wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, "We are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense and fur." The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a standing ovation. "I've never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this one," laughed the pastor, wiping tears from his eyes. "For the rest of my life, I'll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense and fur." "My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing," I said as I dug through my purse for an aspirin. Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master. Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer. Had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. Feel honored to serve such a Leader who loves us. GOD BLESS YOU ALL! -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Tue Dec 14 21:51:39 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:51:39 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Wednesday - 1 Samuel 4:b - 22 Message-ID: <4D082D3B.1020701@bibleseven.com> Wednesday 1 Samuel 4:b - 22 The Ark of the Covenant is Lost to the Philistines Then the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. They camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 4:2 The Philistines arranged their forces to fight Israel. As the battle spread out, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men in the battle line in the field. 4:3 When the army came back to the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? Let's take with us the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh. When it is with us, it will save us from the hand of our enemies. 4:4 So the army sent to Shiloh, and they took from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits between the cherubim. Now the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 4:5 When the ark of the covenant of the Lord arrived at the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the ground shook. 4:6 When the Philistines heard the sound of the shout, they said, "What is this loud shout in the camp of the Hebrews?" Then they realized that the ark of the Lord had arrived at the camp. 4:7 The Philistines were scared because they thought that gods had come to the camp. They said, "Too bad for us! We've never seen anything like this! 4:8 Too bad for us! Who can deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all sorts of plagues in the desert! 4:9 Be strong and act like men, you Philistines, or else you will wind up serving the Hebrews the way they have served you! Act like men and fight!" 4:10 So the Philistines fought. Israel was defeated; they all ran home. The slaughter was very great; thirty thousand foot soldiers fell in battle. 4:11 The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were killed. Eli Dies 4:12 On that day a Benjaminite ran from the battle lines and came to Shiloh. His clothes were torn and dirt was on his head. 4:13 When he arrived in Shiloh, Eli was sitting in his chair watching by the side of the road, for he was very worried about the ark of God. As the man entered the city to give his report, the whole city cried out. 4:14 When Eli heard the outcry, he said, "What is this commotion?" The man quickly came and told Eli. 4:15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes looked straight ahead; he was unable to see. 4:16 The man said to Eli, "I am the one who came from the battle lines! Just today I fled from the battle lines!" Eli asked, "How did things go, my son?" 4:17 The messenger replied, "Israel has fled from the Philistines! The army has suffered a great defeat! Your two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead! The ark of God has been captured!" 4:18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward from his chair beside the gate. He broke his neck and died, for he was old and heavy. He had judged Israel for forty years. 4:19 His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phineas, was pregnant and close to giving birth. When she heard that the ark of God was captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she doubled over and gave birth. But her labor pains were too much for her. 4:20 As she was dying, the women who were there with her said, "Don't be afraid! You have given birth to a son!" But she did not reply or pay any attention. 4:21 She named the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel," referring to the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. 4:22 She said, "The glory has departed from Israel, because the ark of God has been captured." Prayer Lord, rebellion has consequences, Your children cannot expect blessings from You when they refuse to obey You. May I consider daily how I might be more faithful. Commentary Just as Samuel was stepping into the priesthood and Eli and sons about to be terminated by the Lord God, literally, a military conflict started with the Philistines. The text does not describe the Israelites seeking the Lord God's will prior to engaging in battle and 4,000 were killed. They retreated and gathered up Eli's two evil sons and the Ark of the Covenant and returned to the battle. The Israelites loudly celebrated the arrival of the ark of God, because they had heard of the past military victories associated with its presence, and the Philistines were initially fearful. The Philistines were encouraged by their leaders to stand their ground and the result was a huge victory and the death of 30,000 Israelite soldiers. The text added "The ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phineas, were killed." When the report of the defeat, the death of his sons, and the capture of the ark of God was brought to Eli the elderly and overweight head priest fell out of his chair and died. Eli's daughter-in-law through the evil son Phineas also heard the news and as she died in childbirth she named her son Ichabod which meant "The glory has departed from Israel". Interaction Consider The Israelites had a superstitious relationship with the ark of God rather than one based upon a faith-relationship. Discuss Why would the Israelites think that the corrupt and perverse sons of Eli would bring them good fortune in the military engagement? Reflect The loss of the covenant was a symbolic crisis in the world of Israel as they viewed it as a superstitious link to God and therefore as necessary to their well-being. Share When have you experienced the negative result of poor leadership choices? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where you are presuming upon God for blessing in a superstitious way rather than striving day-to-day to live humbly before Him, praising Him for all good things. Action: Today I will remember that all good things come from God, that He owes me nothing, and that He is due my humble obedience every day. I will call upon Him in prayer for those things He has promised to those who are obedient and will give testimony to His faithfulness. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Thursday's text will be: 1 Samuel 5 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Dec 15 17:02:25 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:02:25 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] (no subject) In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <4D093AF1.5020209@lightlink.com> On 12/13/2010 11:16 AM, Peter B. Steiger wrote: > I tell my friends: NEVER EVER EVER EVER click on anything you receive > in email, even if it came from your sainted mother. Don't click on > links, don't click on attachments, just don't click. Ever. At all. > > Obviously there will be a few occasions when you need to click on > something. IF you know the person who sent the > link|attachment|whatever, AND IF it is something you were expecting > from that person, AND IF there is accompanying text written in a style > that sounds like the way that person normally writes, it's probably safe. > > In this case, there was no message from Fred explaining why we should > download that file, and it links to a random file storage site rather > than an established domain name with a known service. I should hope > every person on here knows better than to click on something like that! > > Fred, your account has been hacked. Does anyone (moderator?) have an > alternate email address you can use, in case he is no longer able to > see any responses warning him of the problem? > > */PBS/* > > On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 7:55 AM, Jon Mark Allen > wrote: > > (Of course, it's a Windows virus, and given the membership of this > group, I doubt it would infect most of your machines, but...you > *could* be reading from a Windows box....) > Cute! Fred -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Wed Dec 15 20:20:10 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 20:20:10 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thursday - 1 Samuel 5 Message-ID: <4D09694A.5050308@bibleseven.com> Thursday 1 Samuel 5 The Ark Causes Trouble for the Philistines 5:1 Now the Philistines had captured the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 5:2 The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, where they positioned it beside Dagon. 5:3 When the residents of Ashdod got up early the next day, Dagon was lying on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and set him back in his place. 5:4 But when they got up early the following day, Dagon was again lying on the ground before the ark of the Lord. The head of Dagon and his two hands were sheared off and were lying at the threshold. Only Dagon's body was left intact. 5:5 (For this reason, to this very day, neither Dagon's priests nor anyone else who enters Dagon's temple step on Dagon's threshold in Ashdod.) 5:6 The Lord attacked the residents of Ashdod severely, bringing devastation on them. He struck the people of both Ashdod and the surrounding area with sores. 5:7 When the people of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel should not remain with us, for he has attacked both us and our god Dagon!" 5:8 So they assembled all the leaders of the Philistines and asked, "What should we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" They replied, "The ark of the God of Israel should be moved to Gath." So they moved the ark of the God of Israel. 5:9 But after it had been moved the Lord attacked that city as well, causing a great deal of panic. He struck all the people of that city with sores. 5:10 So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But when the ark of God arrived at Ekron, the residents of Ekron cried out saying, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel here to kill our people!" 5:11 So they assembled all the leaders of the Philistines and said, "Get the ark of the God of Israel out of here! Let it go back to its own place so that it won't kill us and our people!" The terror of death was throughout the entire city; God was attacking them very severely there. 5:12 The people who did not die were struck with sores; the city's cry for help went all the way up to heaven. Prayer Lord, Your presence is only where You decide it will be, those who falsely claim Your name do so at risk of terrible consequences. May I always be careful to consult You in prayer and Your Word with care before asserting Your approval for what I say or do. Commentary The Philistines had an even more superstitious view of the ark of God than did the Israelites; they believed that when they captured it they not only deprived Israel of their god-in-a-box but that they could transfer His power to their purposes alongside their false god Dagon. The Lord God first warned them by knocking over the wooden idol of their false god Dagon. Then the next day He knocked it over and placed its head and hands at the threshold to their temple to their false god. When they still failed to recognize their error He struck the whole city with sores -- so they moved the ark of God to another city. The Lord God struck the second city with sores so they moved the ark of God to a third city. The third city protested as they had heard of what had happened to the others but the Lord God struck many there dead and others with sores. They cried out to the Philistine leaders to return the ark of God to Israel and God heard them. Interaction Consider The Philistines made the error of thinking that the Lord God was a peer to their false god Dagon. Discuss Is it possible that the Philistines had a wrong understanding of the Lord God because the Israelites behaved in such a contradictory manner to His law and treated Him, and the ark of God, with superstition rather than a holy relationship? Reflect Given the evil that the Philistines had done to Israel and others they had little reason to expect sympathy from anyone. Share When have you experienced or observed a non-Christian treating the Lord God like a common pagan idol? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you may be carelessly treating the Lord God more like an idol rather than the Holy One with Whom you are blessed to have a relationship. Action: Today I will prayerfully confess my carelessness in relationship to the Lord God. I will pause to seek His direction in the morning, again later ask for His reflection upon my morning, at noon seek again His direction, and in the evening submit to His review of my day. I will read His word daily to stay connected and praise Him at least once per day to remain humble. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Friday's text will be: 1 Samuel 6 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Dec 15 22:36:48 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:36:48 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Who uses Linux and Open Source in Business? Message-ID: <4D098950.6020909@lightlink.com> Thanks to Glyn Moody, a UK-based technology journalist , I've just learned that Netflix is not only using, but also contributing, to numerous open-source projects. They're in good company. ........................... Netflix is far from the only business that benefits from open source though. People tend to think of Linux and open-source software as benefiting only technology businesses such as IBM, Oracle, and Red Hat. That's not at all the case. Google, Facebook, and Twitter, all best known as Web companies, depend on Linux and open-source software to handle their hundreds of millions to billions of daily users. Indeed, without open-source software I doubt very much that any of that trio would be as big as they are today. It's not just businesses that center on technology that have found Linux and open source help their bottom line. The London Stock Exchange, for example, just switched to Millennium Exchange, which is based around Linux . Other stock exchanges such as Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Tokyo Stock Exchange. etc., etc. Why have all these businesses done this? It's not because any of these businesses love Linux or open-source for their own sake or to stick it to Microsoft or other proprietary software companies. They do it because Linux and open-source software tends to be cheaper, faster, more stable, and gives them more control over the software. In short, open-source and Linux works well for business. Full story: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/who-uses-linux-and-open-source-in-business/7951 -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Dec 15 22:39:24 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:39:24 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Who uses Linux and Open Source in Business? Message-ID: <4D0989EC.904@lightlink.com> Thanks to Glyn Moody, a UK-based technology journalist http://blogs.computerworlduk.com/authors/#authorId87, I've just learned that Netflix http://www.netflix.com is not only using, but also contributing, to numerous open-source projects. They're in good company. ........................... Netflix is far from the only business that benefits from open source though. People tend to think of Linux and open-source software as benefiting only technology businesses such as IBM, Oracle, and Red Hat. That's not at all the case. Google, Facebook, and Twitter, all best known as Web companies, depend on Linux and open-source software to handle their hundreds of millions to billions of daily users. Indeed, without open-source software I doubt very much that any of that trio would be as big as they are today. It's not just businesses that center on technology that have found Linux and open source help their bottom line. The London Stock Exchange, for example, just switched to Millennium Exchange, which is based around Linux http://practical-tech.com/operating-system/london-stock-exchange-moves-to-linux/. Other stock exchanges such as Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Tokyo Stock Exchange. etc., etc. Why have all these businesses done this? It's not because any of these businesses love Linux or open-source for their own sake or to stick it to Microsoft or other proprietary software companies. They do it because Linux and open-source software tends to be cheaper, faster, more stable, and gives them more control over the software. In short, open-source and Linux works well for business. Full story: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/who-uses-linux-and-open-source-in-business/7951 -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Thu Dec 16 00:38:00 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 00:38:00 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Former contractor says FBI put back door in OpenBSD Message-ID: <4D09A5B8.8060901@lightlink.com> Backdoor code was allegedly added to the IPsec stack 10 years ago, giving the FBI secret ways to snoop on encrypted traffic A former government contractor says that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation installed a number of back doors into the encryption software used by the OpenBSD operating system. The allegations were made public Tuesday by Theo de Raadt, the lead developer in the OpenBSD project. DeRaadt posted an email sent by the former contractor, Gregory Perry , so that the matter could be publicly scrutinized. http://www.infoworld.com/d/security-central/former-contractor-says-fbi-put-back-door-in-openbsd-423 -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Thu Dec 16 01:23:03 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 01:23:03 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Microsoft: A big ship at crossroads; What else is new? Message-ID: <4D09B047.1000708@lightlink.com> Microsoft: A big ship at crossroads; What else is new? Predicting the demise of Microsoft is almost a national pastime in the tech sector, but the angst is a bit overblown. Here's the Microsoft ledger of positives and negatives. READ FULL STORY -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Thu Dec 16 01:37:04 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 01:37:04 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] FoxNews.com - The Death of the Hard Drive Message-ID: <4D09B390.1020100@lightlink.com> Here's something you all can chew on for awhile. There are a LOT of reasons why NOT to use "the cloud" for ones personal info. to reside, not anymore than what can be avoided. The first reason that comes to my mind is the US Gov't, which is becoming more intrusive daily, or seemingly so. I don't mind loosing hard drives as long as I can still store ALL of the same data I've been storing on the same hardware another way....like flash memory where I have 100% control of MY data. What do all of you think? Fred http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/09/death-hard-drive-cloud-google-chrome/ -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mwmcmlln at mnsi.net Thu Dec 16 02:18:56 2010 From: mwmcmlln at mnsi.net (Mike McMullin) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:18:56 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] FoxNews.com - The Death of the Hard Drive In-Reply-To: <4D09B390.1020100@lightlink.com> References: <4D09B390.1020100@lightlink.com> Message-ID: <1292483936.2538.1.camel@P-733-Lin> I'd trust your Government about as far as I could throw mine. (And I trust mine not too much where my best interests are concerned.) On Thu, 2010-12-16 at 01:37 -0500, Fred A. Miller wrote: > Here's something you all can chew on for awhile. There are a LOT of > reasons why NOT to use "the cloud" for ones personal info. to reside, > not anymore than what can be avoided. The first reason that comes to > my mind is the US Gov't, which is becoming more intrusive daily, or > seemingly so. I don't mind loosing hard drives as long as I can still > store ALL of the same data I've been storing on the same hardware > another way....like flash memory where I have 100% control of MY data. > What do all of you think? > > Fred > > http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/09/death-hard-drive-cloud-google-chrome/ > -- > "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." > Thomas Jefferson > _______________________________________________ > Linux4christians mailing list > Linux4christians at thelinuxlink.net > http://www.thelinuxlink.net/mailman/listinfo/linux4christians From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Thu Dec 16 21:12:30 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:12:30 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Friday - 1 Samuel 6 Message-ID: <4D0AC70E.2010706@bibleseven.com> Friday 1 Samuel 6 The Philistines Return the Ark 6:1 When the ark of the Lord had been in the land of the Philistines for seven months, 6:2 the Philistines called the priests and the omen readers, saying, "What should we do with the ark of the Lord? Advise us as to how we should send it back to its place." 6:3 They replied, "If you are going to send the ark of the God of Israel back, don't send it away empty. Be sure to return it with a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and you will understand why his hand is not removed from you." 6:4 They inquired, "What is the guilt offering that we should send to him?" They replied, "The Philistine leaders number five. So send five gold sores and five gold mice, for it is the same plague that has afflicted both you and your leaders. 6:5 You should make images of the sores and images of the mice that are destroying the land. You should honor the God of Israel. Perhaps he will release his grip on you, your gods, and your land. 6:6 Why harden your hearts like the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When God treated them harshly, didn't the Egyptians send the Israelites on their way? 6:7 So now go and make a new cart. Get two cows that have calves and that have never had a yoke placed on them. Harness the cows to the cart and take their calves from them back to their stalls. 6:8 Then take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart, and put in a chest beside it the gold objects you are sending to him as a guilt offering. You should then send it on its way. 6:9 But keep an eye on it. If it should go up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has brought this great calamity on us. But if that is not the case, then we will know that it was not his hand that struck us; rather, it just happened to us by accident." 6:10 So the men did as instructed. They took two cows that had calves and harnessed them to a cart; they also removed their calves to their stalls. 6:11 They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, along with the chest, the gold mice, and the images of the sores. 6:12 Then the cows went directly on the road to Beth Shemesh. They went along, mooing as they went; they turned neither to the right nor to the left. The leaders of the Philistines were walking along behind them all the way to the border of Beth Shemesh. 6:13 Now the residents of Beth Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley. When they looked up and saw the ark, they were pleased at the sight. 6:14 The cart was coming to the field of Joshua, who was from Beth Shemesh. It paused there near a big stone. Then they cut up the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 6:15 The Levites took down the ark of the Lord and the chest that was with it, which contained the gold objects. They placed them near the big stone. At that time the people of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices to the Lord. 6:16 The five leaders of the Philistines watched what was happening and then returned to Ekron on the same day. 6:17 These are the gold sores that the Philistines brought as a guilt offering to the Lord -- one for each of the following cities: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. 6:18 The gold mice corresponded in number to all the Philistine cities of the five leaders, from the fortified cities to hamlet villages, to greater Abel, where they positioned the ark of the Lord until this very day in the field of Joshua who was from Beth Shemesh. 6:19 But the Lord struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow. 6:20 The residents of Beth Shemesh asked, "Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? To whom will the ark go up from here?" 6:21 So they sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath Jearim, saying, "The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down here and take it back home with you." Prayer Lord, You go where You will and being blessing to those who honor You and destruction to those who disobey or reject You. May I never lose my sense of awe for You. Commentary The Philistine leaders consulted their religious leaders as to how they should go about returning the ark of God to the Israelites. They were informed that they needed to return it with an offering to sooth the God of Israel. They were instructed to make gold images of the sores and the mice that plagued them and to build a cart pulled by never-yoked calves. They were told to follow rather than lead the calves, if they went to Beth Shemesh it was indeed the Israelite God Who had attacked them, if they went elsewhere then it was not. The calves went to Beth Shemesh and the Israelites used the wood from the cart for the fire of offering of the calves to the Lord in thanks and the Philistines observed that and then returned home. After the sacrifice some of the people of Beth Shemesh foolishly looked into the Ark of God and He struck 50,070 of them dead for their sin. They called to their neighbors in Keriath Jearim to come for the ark of God. Interaction Consider The Philistine religious leaders were not yet convinced that the God of the Israelites had caused their troubles, so they had the ark of God returned as they would any pagan idol, yet setting up the test of the unguided calves to evaluate if the ark of God was indeed the source of trouble. Discuss Everyone in Israel knew that the ark of God was never to be opened except at the behest of the Lord God and only then by the high priest; why would they have looked into it? Reflect Both the Philistines and the Israelites in Beth Shemesh learned the truth of the all-powerful and Holy God of Israel. Share When have you experienced or observed the consequence of Christians treating the Lord God carelessly and suffering as a result? Perhaps living sinfully or neglecting time in prayer and the Word or dabbling in false religions. Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you have been careless with or disrespectful of the Lord God. Action: Today I will repent of my carelessness and/or disrespect toward the Lord God. As is appropriate I may consult with one who meets the Biblical definition of an elder to gain clarity or as the solution is obvious from the Word I will get right before the Lord. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Saturday's text will be: 1 Samuel 7 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Thu Dec 16 21:53:11 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:53:11 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: A Reminder That Laughter is the Best Medicine. EXCELLENT! Message-ID: <4D0AD097.7000906@lightlink.com> http://www.caregiverstress.com/2010/07/a-reminder-that-laughter-is-the-best-medicine/ -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Thu Dec 16 21:55:56 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2010 21:55:56 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] FoxNews.com - The Death of the Hard Drive In-Reply-To: <1292483936.2538.1.camel@P-733-Lin> References: <4D09B390.1020100@lightlink.com> <1292483936.2538.1.camel@P-733-Lin> Message-ID: <4D0AD13C.4050606@lightlink.com> On 12/16/2010 02:18 AM, Mike McMullin wrote: > I'd trust your Government about as far as I could throw mine. (And I > trust mine not too much where my best interests are concerned.) > > On Thu, 2010-12-16 at 01:37 -0500, Fred A. Miller wrote: >> > Here's something you all can chew on for awhile. There are a LOT of >> > reasons why NOT to use "the cloud" for ones personal info. to reside, >> > not anymore than what can be avoided. The first reason that comes to >> > my mind is the US Gov't, which is becoming more intrusive daily, or >> > seemingly so. I don't mind loosing hard drives as long as I can still >> > store ALL of the same data I've been storing on the same hardware >> > another way....like flash memory where I have 100% control of MY data. >> > What do all of you think? >> > >> > Fred >> > >> > http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/09/death-hard-drive-cloud-google-chrome/ Exactly my point. Considering that our Fed. gov't has only gotten worse over the past few years, unless we are proven otherwise, we MUST assume it will only get worse, as NOBama won't be out of office for another 2 yrs.....well, not that we know of anyway. ;) Some other gov'ts beyond our boarders aren't much better, if at all. Fred -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Fri Dec 17 23:58:39 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:58:39 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Saturday - 1 Samuel 7 Message-ID: <4D0C3F7F.8000302@bibleseven.com> Saturday 1 Samuel 7 7:1 Then the people of Kiriath Jearim came and took the ark of the Lord; they brought it to the house of Abinadab located on the hill. They consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord. Further Conflict with the Philistines 7:2 It was quite a long time -- some twenty years in all -- that the ark stayed at Kiriath Jearim. All the people of Israel longed for the Lord. 7:3 Samuel said to all the people of Israel, "If you are really turning to the Lord with all your hearts, remove from among you the foreign gods and the images of Ashtoreth. Give your hearts to the Lord and serve only him. Then he will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." 7:4 So the Israelites removed the Baals and images of Ashtoreth. They served only the Lord. 7:5 Then Samuel said, "Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord on your behalf." 7:6 After they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted on that day, and they confessed there, "We have sinned against the Lord." So Samuel led the people of Israel at Mizpah. 7:7 When the Philistines heard that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, the leaders of the Philistines went up against Israel. When the Israelites heard about this, they were afraid of the Philistines. 7:8 The Israelites said to Samuel, "Keep crying out to the Lord our God so that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines!" 7:9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. Samuel cried out to the Lord on Israel's behalf, and the Lord answered him. 7:10 As Samuel was offering burnt offerings, the Philistines approached to do battle with Israel. But on that day the Lord thundered loudly against the Philistines. He caused them to panic, and they were defeated by Israel. 7:11 Then the men of Israel left Mizpah and chased the Philistines, striking them down all the way to an area below Beth Car. 7:12 Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Up to here the Lord has helped us." 7:13 So the Philistines were defeated; they did not invade Israel again. The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 7:14 The cities that the Philistines had captured from Israel were returned to Israel, from Ekron to Gath. Israel also delivered their territory from the control of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites. 7:15 So Samuel led Israel all the days of his life. 7:16 Year after year he used to travel the circuit of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah; he used to judge Israel in all of these places. 7:17 Then he would return to Ramah, because his home was there. He also judged Israel there and built an altar to the Lord there. Prayer Lord, when we are faithful You love to bless us. May I be careful to keep any sort of idol out of my home and trust You to guide and protect me. Commentary The ark of God was moved to Kiriath Jearim and Samuel challenged the people to prove their allegiance to God by removing all of the idols from their homes and communities, which they did, and the Lord God gave them twenty years of peace with the Philistines. Samuel gathered the people at Mizpah to confess their sins, for a special sacrifice, and so that he could pray for them. The Philistines heard they had gathered and decided to attack. The people were afraid but Samuel made an offering to the Lord and He gave Israel a great victory over the Philistines such that they gave back to Israel lands they had previously taken and they were unable to prevail against Israel all of the time that Samuel led his people. Interaction Consider When the Israelites got rid of their false idols the Lord God blessed them. Discuss How could the Philistines have so quickly forgotten what had happened to them after they captured the ark of God? Reflect Because Samuel was a leader who called the people back to the Lord God they were together blessed by Him for as long as he was their leader. Share When have you experienced or observed a leader who called a confused and troubled fellowship back into the Word of God and to walking in His ways? What was the result? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where some sort of idol, or idolatry, may be distracting you from God. It may laziness or selfishness, greed or lust, a person, non-Biblical philosophy or organization; anyone or any thing that displaces the Lord God in first place in all things. Action: Today I will confess the idol or idolatry in my life, ask and receive the forgiveness of the Lord God, repent of (turn away from) it, and partner with a fellow believer to pray in-agreement with one-another for mutual-accountability in resisting idols and/or idolatry in our lives. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Sunday's text will be: 1 Samuel 8 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sat Dec 18 20:04:19 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 20:04:19 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Sunday - 1 Samuel 8 Message-ID: <4D0D5A13.2050807@bibleseven.com> Sunday 1 Samuel 8 Israel Seeks a King 8:1 In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 8:2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beer Sheba. 8:3 But his sons did not follow his ways. Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice. 8:4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and approached Samuel at Ramah. 8:5 They said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons don't follow your ways. So now appoint over us a king to lead us, just like all the other nations have." 8:6 But this request displeased Samuel, for they said, "Give us a king to lead us." So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 8:7 The Lord said to Samuel, "Do everything the people request of you. For it is not you that they have rejected, but it is me that they have rejected as their king. 8:8 Just as they have done from the day that I brought them up from Egypt until this very day, they have rejected me and have served other gods. This is what they are also doing to you. 8:9 So now do as they say. But seriously warn them and make them aware of the policies of the king who will rule over them." 8:10 So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 8:11 He said, "Here are the policies of the king who will rule over you: He will conscript your sons and put them in his chariot forces and in his cavalry; they will run in front of his chariot. 8:12 He will appoint for himself leaders of thousands and leaders of fifties, as well as those who plow his ground, reap his harvest, and make his weapons of war and his chariot equipment. 8:13 He will take your daughters to be ointment makers, cooks, and bakers. 8:14 He will take your best fields and vineyards and give them to his own servants. 8:15 He will demand a tenth of your seed and of the produce of your vineyards and give it to his administrators and his servants. 8:16 He will take your male and female servants, as well as your best cattle and your donkeys, and assign them for his own use. 8:17 He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will be his servants. 8:18 In that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won't answer you in that day." 8:19 But the people refused to heed Samuel's warning. Instead they said, "No! There will be a king over us! 8:20 We will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us and fight our battles." 8:21 So Samuel listened to everything the people said and then reported it to the Lord. 8:22 The Lord said to Samuel, "Do as they say and install a king over them." Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Each of you go back to his own city." Prayer Lord, the demandingness of humans to go their own way was the cause of the Fall, and has been an unending rotten-fruit of the Fall. May I be accountable to fellow believers so that I may resist drifting into a demanding and rebellious attitude toward You. Commentary Samuel's sons were unlike their father, rather they chose the path of Eli's evil sons, so there was no apparent successor to Samuel as a combined judge and priest and prophet. The people demanded a king like the pagan nations around them which made Samuel sad. He went to the Lord God Who declared that the people had been continuously-rebellious and thus He was no longer willing to protect them from their foolish choices. He instructed Samuel to warn them as to the bad consequences of a human king over God Himself as their king, which Samuel did, but still they insisted. Samuel agreed to facilitate the appointment of a human king and sent them home. Interaction Consider A humble, obedient, and wise parent does not always assure children who choose to live likewise. The text is silent as to the details of Samuel's children so it is unclear what were their primary influences. It may be that Samuel was so occupied with his responsibilities as judge, priest, and prophet that he failed to be actively involved with his sons. Discuss After Samuel explained all of the terrible troubles that would accompany a human king why would the people have continued to demand one? Reflect God decided that He had tolerated the arrogance and disrespect of the Israelites long enough and that it was time to allow them to learn the hard way the difference between a human king and the Lord God as King. Share When have you ignored warnings and pursued something despite them? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life that you are ignoring wise counsel. Action: Today I will pause and reflect upon the counsel I have received which asked me to reconsider a current activity or a planned future endeavor. I will consult the Word of God, pray, and as is appropriate consult one who is Biblically qualified as an elder for mature and prayerful counsel. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Monday's text will be: I Samuel 9-10:8 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From proyectopuente at hotmail.com Sat Dec 18 21:56:22 2010 From: proyectopuente at hotmail.com (Proyecto Puente Internacional, A.C.) Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 20:56:22 -0600 Subject: [Linux4christians] [OT] NEED ADVICE FOR SETTING UP WEBPAGE WITH MP3 SERMONS In-Reply-To: <4D0D5A13.2050807@bibleseven.com> References: <4D0D5A13.2050807@bibleseven.com> Message-ID: Dear Brothers and Sisters: I am not the brightest light on the Christmas tree. I would like somebody to give me some pointers on how to set up our website with MP3 audio sermons. I have no idea if Itunes would be necessary or preferable. Please help! PLEASE send your answers OFF LIST, so as not to distract from the central purpose of this great list. Thanks in advace and be blessed! Dr. Steve, central old Mexico __________ Informaci?n de ESET Smart Security, versi?n de la base de firmas de virus 5714 (20101218) __________ ESET Smart Security ha comprobado este mensaje. http://www.eset.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From proyectopuente at hotmail.com Sat Dec 18 22:01:11 2010 From: proyectopuente at hotmail.com (Proyecto Puente Internacional, A.C.) Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 21:01:11 -0600 Subject: [Linux4christians] SHARP PC-Z1 NETWALKER LINUX PDA In-Reply-To: <4D0D5A13.2050807@bibleseven.com> References: <4D0D5A13.2050807@bibleseven.com> Message-ID: Dear Friends: I have the Sharp PC-Z1 Netwalker Linux-powered (Ubuntu 9.04) PDA. I have yet to find any Bible software for it. BibleTime is on the reposotories lst, but does NOT install. Is anybody else using this PDA? Dr. Steve, San Juan del R?o, Quer?taro, Mexico __________ Informaci?n de ESET Smart Security, versi?n de la base de firmas de virus 5714 (20101218) __________ ESET Smart Security ha comprobado este mensaje. http://www.eset.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From l4c at thelinuxlink.net Sat Dec 18 22:54:58 2010 From: l4c at thelinuxlink.net (Lincoln Fessenden) Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 22:54:58 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] [OT] NEED ADVICE FOR SETTING UP WEBPAGE WITH MP3 SERMONS In-Reply-To: References: <4D0D5A13.2050807@bibleseven.com> Message-ID: <4D0D8212.8050307@thelinuxlink.net> On 12/18/10 9:56 PM, Proyecto Puente Internacional, A.C. wrote: > Dear Brothers and Sisters: > I am not the brightest light on the Christmas tree. I would like > somebody to give me some pointers on how to set up our website with MP3 > audio sermons. I have no idea if Itunes would be necessary or > preferable. Please help! > PLEASE send your answers OFF LIST, so as not to distract from the > central purpose of this great list. > Thanks in advace and be blessed! > Dr. Steve, central old Mexico > Hi Steve! Actually, that is what this list is for! I am not sure if you have a website already set up or are just starting one that you want to include sermons on, but my recommendation would probably be using wordpress with one of the mp3 plugins they have available. The plugin directory lists many: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/tags/mp3 -- -Linc Fessenden In the Beginning there was nothing, which exploded - Yeah right... From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sun Dec 19 07:51:51 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2010 07:51:51 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] SHARP PC-Z1 NETWALKER LINUX PDA In-Reply-To: References: <4D0D5A13.2050807@bibleseven.com> Message-ID: <4D0DFFE7.5060304@bibleseven.com> Have you tried one of the many versions of the NET Bible at http://bible.org? > Dear Friends: > > I have the Sharp PC-Z1 Netwalker Linux-powered (Ubuntu 9.04) PDA. I > have yet to find any Bible software for it. BibleTime is on the > reposotories lst, but does NOT install. Is anybody else using this > PDA? > > Dr. Steve, San Juan del R?o, Quer?taro, Mexico -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sun Dec 19 07:54:09 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2010 07:54:09 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] [OT] NEED ADVICE FOR SETTING UP WEBPAGE WITH MP3 SERMONS In-Reply-To: References: <4D0D5A13.2050807@bibleseven.com> Message-ID: <4D0E0071.5000400@bibleseven.com> What do you use to edit and update your Web site? I would think it could be done with simple HTML. It is just another file, like a text file or an image, which should be able to be right-clicked on and saved. > Dear Brothers and Sisters: > > I am not the brightest light on the Christmas tree. I would like > somebody to give me some pointers on how to set up our website with > MP3 audio sermons. I have no idea if Itunes would be necessary or > preferable. Please help! > > PLEASE send your answers OFF LIST, so as not to distract from the > central purpose of this great list. > > Thanks in advace and be blessed! > > Dr. Steve, central old Mexico -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sun Dec 19 19:29:58 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2010 19:29:58 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Monday - I Samuel 9-10:8 Message-ID: <4D0EA386.5060909@bibleseven.com> Monday I Samuel 9-10:8 Samuel Meets with Saul 9:1 There was a Benjaminite man named Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. He was a prominent person. 9:2 He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people. 9:3 The donkeys of Saul's father Kish wandered off, so Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkeys." 9:4 So Saul crossed through the hill country of Ephraim, passing through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. So they crossed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he crossed through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them. 9:5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come on, let's head back before my father quits worrying about the donkeys and becomes anxious about us!" 9:6 But the servant said to him, "Look, there is a man of God in this town. He is highly respected. Everything that he says really happens. Now let's go there. Perhaps he will tell us where we should go from here." 9:7 So Saul said to his servant, "All right, we can go. But what can we bring the man, since the food in our bags is used up? We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?" 9:8 The servant went on to answer Saul, "Look, I happen to have in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us where we should go." 9:9 (Now it used to be in Israel that whenever someone went to inquire of God he would say, "Come on, let's go to the seer." For today's prophet used to be called a seer.) 9:10 So Saul said to his servant, "That's a good idea! Come on. Let's go." So they went to the town where the man of God was. 9:11 As they were going up the ascent to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water. They said to them, "Is this where the seer is?" 9:12 They replied, "Yes, straight ahead! But hurry now, for he came to the town today, and the people are making a sacrifice at the high place. 9:13 When you enter the town, you can find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people won't eat until he arrives, for he must bless the sacrifice. Once that happens, those who have been invited will eat. Now go on up, for this is the time when you can find him!" 9:14 So they went up to the town. As they were heading for the middle of the town, Samuel was coming in their direction to go up to the high place. 9:15 Now the day before Saul arrived, the Lord had told Samuel: 9:16 "At this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin. You must consecrate him as a leader over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked with favor on my people. Their cry has reached me!" 9:17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, "Here is the man that I told you about! He will rule over my people." 9:18 As Saul approached Samuel in the middle of the gate, he said, "Please tell me where the seer's house is." 9:19 Samuel replied to Saul, "I am the seer! Go up in front of me to the high place! Today you will eat with me and in the morning I will send you away. I will tell you everything that you are thinking. 9:20 Don't be concerned about the donkeys that you lost three days ago, for they have been found. Whom does all Israel desire? Is it not you, and all your father's family?" 9:21 Saul replied, "Am I not a Benjaminite, from the smallest of Israel's tribes, and is not my family clan the smallest of all the tribes of Benjamin? Why do you speak to me in this way?" 9:22 Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the room and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited. There were about thirty people present. 9:23 Samuel said to the cook, "Give me the portion of meat that I gave to you -- the one I asked you to keep with you." 9:24 So the cook picked up the leg and brought it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, "What was kept is now set before you! Eat, for it has been kept for you for this meeting time, from the time I said, 'I have invited the people.'" So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 9:25 When they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof. 9:26 They got up at dawn and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get up, so I can send you on your way." So Saul got up and the two of them -- he and Samuel -- went outside. 9:27 While they were going down to the edge of town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us." So he did. Samuel then said, "You remain here awhile, so I can inform you of God's message." Samuel Anoints Saul 10:1 Then Samuel took a small container of olive oil and poured it on Saul's head. Samuel kissed him and said, "The Lord has chosen you to lead his people Israel! You will rule over the Lord's people and you will deliver them from the power of the enemies who surround them. This will be your sign that the Lord has chosen you as leader over his inheritance. 10:2 When you leave me today, you will find two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah on Benjamin's border. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you have gone looking for have been found. Your father is no longer concerned about the donkeys but has become anxious about you two! He is asking, "What should I do about my son?"' 10:3 "As you continue on from there, you will come to the tall tree of Tabor. At that point three men who are going up to God at Bethel will meet you. One of them will be carrying three young goats, one of them will be carrying three round loaves of bread, and one of them will be carrying a container of wine. 10:4 They will ask you how you're doing and will give you two loaves of bread. You will accept them. 10:5 Afterward you will go to Gibeah of God, where there are Philistine officials. When you enter the town, you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place. They will have harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. 10:6 Then the spirit of the Lord will rush upon you and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. 10:7 "When these signs have taken place, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God will be with you. 10:8 You will go down to Gilgal before me. I am going to join you there to offer burnt offerings and to make peace offerings. You should wait for seven days, until I arrive and tell you what to do." Prayer Lord, You call whomsoever You will and You equip those whom You call. May I be ever ready and willing to serve You however You direct. Commentary The Lord God caused Saul to be sent in search of lost donkeys and after three days he stopped at a village to seek directions where he was brought together with Samuel. Samuel informed him of his calling from God to be king of his people. Saul was surprised as he was from a small family in a small tribe. Samuel gave Saul very detailed instructions as to what was to happen and what he, Saul, was to do over the next several days of his journey home. Samuel also instructed Saul as to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon him, that he would prophesy with the prophets and thus be transformed, and that he would be blessed in all that he did -- then to wait on Samual's arrival. Interaction Consider The Lord God had chosen Saul and thus guided him along the path He chose for him. Discuss Saul should have known of the many times that God had chosen men who were not famous or from great families and tribes, so why would he question Samuel when informed that he had been chosen as the first human King of Israel? Reflect Samuel sent Saul on a journey of prophesied events to build his faith, then Saul would himself become the vessel of the Holy Spirit and prophesy, all designed to prepare him to be the first human king -- while still subservient to the Lord God. Share When have you been unexpectedly chosen for a role which you expected would go to another? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a journey upon which He is sending you. Action: Today I will prayerfully seek clarity as to the journey the Lord has begun, or is about to begin, in my life. It may be related to education or training, beginning or ending a relationship or relationships, it may be separating from some unhealthy worldly influences or joining with others to reach into the world with the Word in order to change a small part of it, it may be freedom from emotional, intellectual, physical, and/or spiritual bondage of some sort. Whatever it is I will agree to see it through with confidence and will seek accountability and prayer support from fellow believers. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Tuesday's text will be: 1 Samuel 10:9-11:11 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Mon Dec 20 23:49:18 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2010 23:49:18 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Tuesday - 1 Samuel 10:9-11:11 Message-ID: <4D1031CE.9010905@bibleseven.com> Tuesday 1 Samuel 10:9-11:11 Saul Becomes King 10:9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed his inmost person. All these signs happened on that very day. 10:10 When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a company of prophets was coming out to meet him. Then the spirit of God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied among them. 10:11 When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people all asked one another, "What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?" 10:12 A man who was from there replied, "And who is their father?" Therefore this became a proverb: "Is even Saul among the prophets?" 10:13 When Saul had finished prophesying, he went to the high place. 10:14 Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where did you go?" Saul replied, "To look for the donkeys. But when we realized they were lost, we went to Samuel." 10:15 Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you." 10:16 Saul said to his uncle, "He assured us that the donkeys had been found." But Saul did not tell him what Samuel had said about the matter of kingship. 10:17 Then Samuel called the people together before the Lord at Mizpah. 10:18 He said to the Israelites, "This is what the Lord God of Israel says, 'I brought Israel up from Egypt and I delivered you from the power of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. 10:19 But today you have rejected your God who saves you from all your trouble and distress. You have said, "No! Appoint a king over us." Now take your positions before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.'" 10:20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. 10:21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of Matri was chosen by lot. At last Saul son of Kish was chosen by lot. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found. 10:22 So they inquired again of the Lord, "Has the man arrived here yet?" The Lord said, "He has hidden himself among the equipment." 10:23 So they ran and brought him from there. When he took his position among the people, he stood head and shoulders above them all. 10:24 Then Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? Indeed, there is no one like him among all the people!" All the people shouted out, "Long live the king!" 10:25 Then Samuel talked to the people about how the kingship would work. He wrote it all down on a scroll and set it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away to their homes. 10:26 Even Saul went to his home in Gibeah. With him went some brave men whose hearts God had touched. 10:27 But some wicked men said, "How can this man save us?" They despised him and did not even bring him a gift. But Saul said nothing about it. Saul Comes to the Aid of Jabesh 11:1 Nahash the Ammonite marched against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash, "Make a treaty with us and we will serve you." 11:2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "The only way I will make a treaty with you is if you let me gouge out the right eye of every one of you and in so doing humiliate all Israel!" 11:3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Leave us alone for seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. If there is no one who can deliver us, we will come out voluntarily to you." 11:4 When the messengers went to Gibeah (where Saul lived) and informed the people of these matters, all the people wept loudly. 11:5 Now Saul was walking behind the oxen as he came from the field. Saul asked, "What has happened to the people? Why are they weeping?" So they told him about the men of Jabesh. 11:6 The Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 11:7 He took a pair of oxen and cut them up. Then he sent the pieces throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, who said, "Whoever does not go out after Saul and after Samuel should expect this to be done to his oxen!" Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they went out as one army. 11:8 When Saul counted them at Bezek, the Israelites were 300,000 strong and the men of Judah numbered 30,000. 11:9 They said to the messengers who had come, "Here's what you should say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: 'Tomorrow deliverance will come to you when the sun is fully up.'" When the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh Gilead, they were happy. 11:10 The men of Jabesh said, "Tomorrow we will come out to you and you can do with us whatever you wish." 11:11 The next day Saul placed the people in three groups. They went to the Ammonite camp during the morning watch and struck them down until the hottest part of the day. The survivors scattered; no two of them remained together. Prayer Lord, when we are stubborn and demanding You meet us where we are and sometimes you give us what we demand, even though it may prove a difficulty for us. May I not be so demanding and stubborn that You have to discipline me by granting my wrong-headed demands of You. Commentary The Lord God fulfilled what He has prophesied through Samuel -- as soon as Saul left Samuel He came upon Saul and with the presence of the Holy Spirit transformed him -- for a time. Saul met the prophets and he also, through the same Holy Spirit, did prophesy. People who knew Saul were both amazed and confused. Saul did not immediately tell anyone of Samuel's message about him becoming Israel's first human king, perhaps remembering the ancient story of what had happened to Joseph when he shared an unusual story of earthly authority. Samuel called the leaders of the tribes together and by lot the tribe of Benjamin was chosen, then a family, and finally Saul. He was hidden among the equipment but when brought forward was taller than the rest and when Samuel declared him the one called by God they all cheered. Samuel reminded the people what to expect of a human king and then dismissed them. Saul returned home with a few men set apart by the Lord God, but he also heard from a few who doubted him and who refused to give him gifts, but he said nothing about that. The Ammonites threatened the people of Jabesh Gilead and when Saul heard the Lord God, through the Holy Spirit, made him righteously angry. With his new authority as king he summoned 330,000 fighting men from Israel and Judah and defeated the Ammonites completely. Interaction Consider When the Lord God calls He equips, and He surely did so with Saul. Discuss An unusually tall, strong, and handsome man, Saul then was given the presence of the Holy Spirit so as to prophesy and was called as king; so why was he reluctant to tell anyone and at the time of Samuel's announcement was he "hiding among the equipment"? Reflect Samuel again warned the people what to expect of a human king, the one they demanded instead of God-Himself. Share When have you experienced or observed a group of people demanding a leader or an action by their leaders that was obviously foolish? What were the consequences? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a task for which He has called you. Action: Today I will prayerfully and humbly accept whatever it is that the Holy Spirit has tasked to me. I will trust Him to provide the strength and wisdom and other resources that I need. I will ask at least one other believer to pray in-agreement for my faithfulness in this task. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Wednesday's text will be: I Samuel 11:12-12:25 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Tue Dec 21 20:21:30 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:21:30 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Wednesday - I Samuel 11:12-12:25 Message-ID: <4D11529A.4050501@bibleseven.com> Wednesday I Samuel 11:12-12:25 Saul Is Established as King 11:12 Then the people said to Samuel, "Who were the ones asking, 'Will Saul reign over us?' Hand over those men so we may execute them!" 11:13 But Saul said, "No one will be killed on this day. For today the Lord has given Israel a victory!" 11:14 Samuel said to the people, "Come on! Let's go to Gilgal and renew the kingship there." 11:15 So all the people went to Gilgal, where they established Saul as king in the Lord's presence. They offered up peace offerings there in the Lord's presence. Saul and all the Israelites were very happy. 12:1 Samuel said to all Israel, "I have done everything you requested. I have given you a king. 12:2 Now look! This king walks before you. As for me, I am old and gray, though my sons are here with you. I have walked before you from the time of my youth till the present day. 12:3 Here I am. Bring a charge against me before the Lord and before his chosen king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I wronged? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I taken a bribe so that I would overlook something? Tell me, and I will return it to you!" 12:4 They replied, "You have not wronged us or oppressed us. You have not taken anything from the hand of anyone." 12:5 He said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and his chosen king is witness this day, that you have not found any reason to accuse me." They said, "He is witness!" 12:6 Samuel said to the people, "The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt. 12:7 Now take your positions, so I may confront you before the Lord regarding all the Lord's just actions toward you and your ancestors. 12:8 When Jacob entered Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord. The Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and they led your ancestors out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 12:9 "But they forgot the Lord their God, so he gave them into the hand of Sisera, the general in command of Hazor's army, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 12:10 Then they cried out to the Lord and admitted, 'We have sinned, for we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the images of Ashtoreth. Now deliver us from the hand of our enemies so that we may serve you.' 12:11 So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely. 12:12 "When you saw that King Nahash of the Ammonites was advancing against you, you said to me, 'No! A king will rule over us' -- even though the Lord your God is your king! 12:13 Now look! Here is the king you have chosen -- the one that you asked for! Look, the Lord has given you a king! 12:14 If you fear the Lord, serving him and obeying him and not rebelling against what he says, and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God, all will be well. 12:15 But if you don't obey the Lord and rebel against what the Lord says, the hand of the Lord will be against both you and your king. 12:16 "So now, take your positions and watch this great thing that the Lord is about to do in your sight. 12:17 Is this not the time of the wheat harvest? I will call on the Lord so that he makes it thunder and rain. Realize and see what a great sin you have committed before the Lord by asking for a king for yourselves." 12:18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel. 12:19 All the people said to Samuel, "Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us -- your servants -- so we won't die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king." 12:20 Then Samuel said to the people, "Don't be afraid. You have indeed sinned. However, don't turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. 12:21 You should not turn aside after empty things that can't profit and can't deliver, since they are empty. 12:22 The Lord will not abandon his people because he wants to uphold his great reputation. The Lord was pleased to make you his own people. 12:23 As far as I am concerned, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the way that is good and upright. 12:24 However, fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Just look at the great things he has done for you! 12:25 But if you continue to do evil, both you and your king will be swept away." Prayer Lord, we often create impediments to our relationship with You, often in the form of religious persons, rituals, and man-made traditions. My I be found faithful and resistant to anything that might interfere in the intimate relationship You desire to have with me. Commentary The people demanded that they be allowed to kill the men who disrespected Saul but he replied that the Lord had given them a great victory and they needed to do no more killing that day. Samuel called the people together to affirm Saul's calling and they gave offerings to the Lord God. It is worthy of note that it was not unusual for people to make an offering to God when a new leader was recognized. In some cases, as in Daniel 2:46 there has been confusion by some as to whom the offering was made, but in a righteous circumstance it was always and only to the Lord God. A man or an angel may be treated with honor but never worshiped or sacrificed to as that would make them an idol or a false Messiah. Samuel challenged the people to show how he had ever wronged them, and they confessed that he had not, so he reminded them of the history of God's provision up until the time of their demand for a human king in place of the Lord God as their King. He warned them that both they and their human king were now mutually responsible to submit to the Lord God or else both they and their human king would suffer. He then asked the Lord God to affirm his relationship with rain and thunder, then they confessed their sin for demanding a king and begged him to pray for them. Samuel assured them of his continued prayers as that was his ministry and it would be a sin to not pray for the people. Interaction Consider Samuel remained very troubled that the people demanded a human king and worried that it would become another impediment in their intimacy with the Lord God. Discuss How intimidated must Saul have been in the presence of Samuel, as well as by Samuel's charge that he and the people were mutually responsible to live rightly and without rebellion before the Lord God, as the thunder and lightning came? Reflect Samuel convicted the people of their sin by reviewing the history of God's provision and protection in order to alert them to their need to remain right in His eyes. Share When have you observed a leader being given, or taking, more power than was necessary -- displacing the responsibilities of the people? What was the result? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you may be giving responsibilities to someone in authority that really belong to you. Action: Today I will take an inventory of the responsibilities the Lord says are mine and repent of any that I have improperly left to someone in a position of religious authority. It may be expecting a pastor or teacher to provide all of my Bible study, for the corporate gatherings of a fellowship to represent all of my time in prayer and worship, or a counselor or minister to intervene every time there is confusion or conflict -- before I follow the Biblical process myself. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Thursday 1 Samuel 13:1-22 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jonathon.blake at gmail.com Wed Dec 22 14:21:48 2010 From: jonathon.blake at gmail.com (jonathon) Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 19:21:48 +0000 Subject: [Linux4christians] S.O.T. Bible Study Software on game consoles: In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: All: At BibleTech 2010, there was a talk about porting BibleNavigator to the x-box. What I am wondering, is if: * Anybody is aware of any other Bible Study software that has been distributed on a game console; * Anybody would be interested in using Bible Study software on a game console; ###### FWIW, this is related to my blog post about what cross-platform support should mean. jonathon -- Personal email to this account is automatically forwarded to Dave Null, and goes unread by any human. From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Wed Dec 22 21:02:05 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 22 Dec 2010 21:02:05 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thursday - 1 Samuel 13:1-22 Message-ID: <4D12AD9D.1020501@bibleseven.com> Thursday 1 Samuel 13:1-22 Saul Fails the Lord 13:1 Saul was [thirty] years old when he began to reign; he ruled over Israel for [forty] years. 13:2 Saul selected for himself three thousand men from Israel. Two thousand of these were with Saul at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel; the remaining thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. He sent all the rest of the people back home. 13:3 Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost that was at Geba and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul alerted all the land saying, "Let the Hebrews pay attention!" 13:4 All Israel heard this message, "Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel is repulsive to the Philistines!" So the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal. 13:5 For the battle with Israel the Philistines had amassed 3,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and an army as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. 13:6 The men of Israel realized they had a problem because their army was hard pressed. So the army hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, strongholds, and cisterns. 13:7 Some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan River to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal; the entire army that was with him was terrified. 13:8 He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. 13:9 So Saul said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings." Then he offered a burnt offering. 13:10 Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. 13:11 But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the army had started to abandon me and that you didn't come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash, 13:12 I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord's favor.' So I felt obligated to offer the burnt offering." 13:13 Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed the commandment that the Lord your God gave you. Had you done that, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever! 13:14 But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out for himself a man who is loyal to him and the Lord has appointed him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you." 13:15 Then Samuel set out and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. Saul mustered the army that remained with him; there were about six hundred men. 13:16 Saul, his son Jonathan, and the army that remained with them stayed in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped in Micmash. 13:17 Raiding bands went out from the camp of the Philistines in three groups. One band turned toward the road leading to Ophrah by the land of Shual; 13:18 another band turned toward the road leading to Beth Horon; and yet another band turned toward the road leading to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim in the direction of the desert. 13:19 A blacksmith could not be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, "This will prevent the Hebrews from making swords and spears." 13:20 So all Israel had to go down to the Philistines in order to get their plowshares, cutting instruments, axes, and sickles sharpened. 13:21 They charged two-thirds of a shekel to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and a third of a shekel to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads. 13:22 So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them. Prayer Lord, You set the boundaries and define the rules, we do not get to invent our own definitions of good and evil or right and wrong. May I not drift into the situational ethics and personal- religion practices of the world around me -- Your Word is truth. Commentary While Saul ruled Israel as its human king for 40 years it was an uneasy rule. His son Jonathan attacked the Philistines which caused them to gather massive forces for battle against a relatively tiny Israelite army of 3,000. While Saul waited day after day for Samuel to come and make an offering to seek God's blessing the soldiers began to leave in large numbers. Saul took it upon himself to make the offering, something he knew he was no supposed to do, and when Samuel arrived he informed Saul that in so-doing he had lost the right for his descendants to follow in his place as king. The Philistines had strategically blocked the Israelites from having their own blacksmith shops in order to force them to buy tools from Philistine blacksmiths, and to deny them the ability to make their own weapons. Only King Saul and his son Jonathan possessed metal spears and swords. Interaction Consider Jonathan appeared to be somewhat impetuous. Discuss With all of the history that he knew, and with God's Holy Spirit having come upon him, why would Saul have been so impatient and impetuous? Did he not remember the story of Gideon, and others, where God reduced the army to make it clear that He was fighting the battle? Reflect For the sake of one military battle Saul sacrificed the future of his descendants as kings. Share When have you acted impetuously, intending good, only to make things worse? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a place where you are seeking circumstances though your limited human eyes instead of trusting Him to be in control and to reveal to you His vision. Action: Today I will slow down and pray, study the Word, reflect upon my circumstances, and pray some more ... and then I will be quiet and listen to God. I will trust Him to be in control, I will truth Him to make a way for me, and I will resist the temptation to get out ahead of Him. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Friday's text will be: 1 Samuel 13:23-14:52 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Fri Dec 24 00:03:53 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 00:03:53 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Friday - Samuel 13:23-14:52 Message-ID: <4D1429B9.4050409@bibleseven.com> Friday 1 Samuel 13:23-14:52 Jonathan Ignites a Battle 13:23 A garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash. 14:1 Then one day Jonathan son of Saul said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to the Philistine garrison that is opposite us." But he did not let his father know. 14:2 Now Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree in Migron, on the outskirts of Gibeah. The army that was with him numbered about six hundred men. 14:3 Now Ahijah was carrying an ephod. He was the son of Ahitub, who was the brother of Ichabod and a son of Phineas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh. The army was unaware that Jonathan had left. 14:4 Now there was a steep cliff on each side of the pass through which Jonathan intended to go to reach the Philistine garrison. One cliff was named Bozez, the other Seneh. 14:5 The cliff to the north was closer to Micmash, the one to the south closer to Geba. 14:6 Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will intervene for us. Nothing can prevent the Lord from delivering, whether by many or by a few." 14:7 His armor bearer said to him, "Do everything that is on your mind. Do as you're inclined. I'm with you all the way!" 14:8 Jonathan replied, "All right! We'll go over to these men and fight them. 14:9 If they say to us, 'Stay put until we approach you,' we will stay right there and not go up to them. 14:10 But if they say, 'Come up against us,' we will go up. For in that case the Lord has given them into our hand -- it will be a sign to us." 14:11 When they made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, "Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves." 14:12 Then the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor bearer, "Come on up to us so we can teach you a thing or two!" Then Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come up behind me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel!" 14:13 Jonathan crawled up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer following behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines, while his armor bearer came along behind him and killed them. 14:14 In this initial skirmish Jonathan and his armor bearer struck down about twenty men in an area that measured half an acre. 14:15 Then fear overwhelmed those who were in the camp, those who were in the field, all the army in the garrison, and the raiding bands. They trembled and the ground shook. This fear was caused by God. 14:16 Saul's watchmen at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin looked on as the crowd of soldiers seemed to melt away first in one direction and then in another. 14:17 So Saul said to the army that was with him, "Muster the troops and see who is no longer with us." When they mustered the troops, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. 14:18 So Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring near the ephod," for he was at that time wearing the ephod. 14:19 While Saul spoke to the priest, the panic in the Philistines' camp was becoming greater and greater. So Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand!" 14:20 Saul and all the army that was with him assembled and marched into battle, where they found the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords. 14:21 The Hebrews who had earlier gone over to the Philistine side joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 14:22 When all the Israelites who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they too pursued them in battle. 14:23 So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle shifted over to Beth Aven. Jonathan Violates Saul's Oath 14:24 Now the men of Israel were hard pressed that day, for Saul had made the army agree to this oath: "Cursed be the man who eats food before evening! I will get my vengeance on my enemies!" So no one in the army ate anything. 14:25 Now the whole army entered the forest and there was honey on the ground. 14:26 When the army entered the forest, they saw the honey flowing, but no one ate any of it, for the army was afraid of the oath. 14:27 But Jonathan had not heard about the oath his father had made the army take. He extended the end of his staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb. When he ate it, his eyes gleamed. 14:28 Then someone from the army informed him, "Your father put the army under a strict oath saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food today!' That is why the army is tired." 14:29 Then Jonathan said, "My father has caused trouble for the land. See how my eyes gleamed when I tasted just a little of this honey. 14:30 Certainly if the army had eaten some of the enemies' provisions that they came across today, would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?" 14:31 On that day the army struck down the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon, and they became very tired. 14:32 So the army rushed greedily on the plunder, confiscating sheep, cattle, and calves. They slaughtered them right on the ground, and the army ate them blood and all. 14:33 Now it was reported to Saul, "Look, the army is sinning against the Lord by eating even the blood." He said, "All of you have broken the covenant! Roll a large stone over here to me." 14:34 Then Saul said, "Scatter out among the army and say to them, 'Each of you bring to me your ox and sheep and slaughter them in this spot and eat. But don't sin against the Lord by eating the blood." So that night each one brought his ox and slaughtered it there. 14:35 Then Saul built an altar for the Lord; it was the first time he had built an altar for the Lord. 14:36 Saul said, "Let's go down after the Philistines at night; we will rout them until the break of day. We won't leave any of them alive!" They replied, "Do whatever seems best to you." But the priest said, "Let's approach God here." 14:37 So Saul asked God, "Should I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?" But he did not answer him that day. 14:38 Then Saul said, "All you leaders of the army come here. Find out how this sin occurred today. 14:39 For as surely as the Lord, the deliverer of Israel, lives, even if it turns out to be my own son Jonathan, he will certainly die!" But no one from the army said anything. 14:40 Then he said to all Israel, "You will be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side." The army replied to Saul, "Do whatever you think is best." 14:41 Then Saul said, "O Lord God of Israel! If this sin has been committed by me or by my son Jonathan, then, O Lord God of Israel, respond with Urim. But if this sin has been committed by your people Israel, respond with Thummim." Then Jonathan and Saul were indicated by lot, while the army was exonerated. 14:42 Then Saul said, "Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan!" Jonathan was indicated by lot. 14:43 So Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." Jonathan told him, "I used the end of the staff that was in my hand to taste a little honey. I must die!" 14:44 Saul said, "God will punish me severely if Jonathan doesn't die!" 14:45 But the army said to Saul, "Should Jonathan, who won this great victory in Israel, die? May it never be! As surely as the Lord lives, not a single hair of his head will fall to the ground! For it is with the help of God that he has acted today." So the army rescued Jonathan from death. 14:46 Then Saul stopped chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines went back home. 14:47 After Saul had secured his royal position over Israel, he fought against all their enemies on all sides -- the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. In every direction that he turned he was victorious. 14:48 He fought bravely, striking down the Amalekites and delivering Israel from the hand of its enemies. Members of Saul's Family 14:49 The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. He had two daughters; the older one was named Merab and the younger Michal. 14:50 The name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the general in command of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul's uncle. 14:51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 14:52 There was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. So whenever Saul saw anyone who was a warrior or a brave individual, he would conscript him. Prayer Lord, sometimes human leaders behave foolishly, but Your will is done despite them. May I be ever watchful for opportunities to serve You even with those about me appear immobilized. Commentary Jonathan contined his impetuous ways, this time setting off to attack a Philistine outpost without consulting Saul. He asked the Lord to affirm His endorsement and received it -- while they killed twenty men the Lord God attacked the Philistine army, sending them into a chaotic terror, killing one another. Saul, hearing of the conflict gathered his forces and attacked, and many Israelites who left him or fallen-in with the Philistines joined in attacking the Philistines as the Lord gave them victory Like Jonathan, Saul was impulsive, so he made a rule and an oath -- none should eat until the Philistines were completely defeated and a curse on the one who does eat. Jonathan did not know and he ate of the honey God had provided and recognized that Saul had blocked the strength God intended to give to the Israelite army through that honey. The soldiers defeated many Philistines but were exhausted and hungry and killed the captured animals, eating them blood and all. Saul heard of this and was upset that they broke both God's rule against eating the blood and his prohibition against eating. Saul then built his first altar and called for the men to bring offerings. He asked the Lord for His Word as to how they should proceed but the Lord did not reply. Saul challenged the army to confess as to who first ate and after lots it was shown to be Jonathan -- he cried out that he must die but the army saw that the victory had really been his through God and would not allow him to be killed. They stopped their attack on the Philistines. Saul then built up a great army, conscripting ever able young man into the army, and had great success attacking the enemies of Israel on every side. Interaction Consider Jonathan appeared to have a closer relationship with the Lord God than his father, the King. Discuss Why would Saul declare a ban on eating and a curse on the one who did? He knew that the army would get hungry and tired. Was it arrogance or immaturity? There is no evidence in the text that he first consulted God. Reflect The Lord God used Saul to defeat the enemies of Israel in spite of Saul's many personal failings. Share When have you observed someone in authority carelessly making declarations which turned out to not be wise? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you an opportunity to be used for His purposes even though those in leadership appear to be powerless and trapped. Action: Today I will step out in faith and seize the opportunities given to me by the Lord. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Saturday's text will be: 1 Samuel 15 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From wa3fkg at gmail.com Fri Dec 24 13:18:54 2010 From: wa3fkg at gmail.com (Ken Sprouse) Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 13:18:54 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] sudo Message-ID: http://www.xkcd.com/838/ -- Ken Sprouse / WA3FKG John 3:16 http://www.wa3fkg.com You meet the nicest people at a TEA Party. The box said "Win98/2000/XP or better" so I installed Linux! Smith & Wesson - The ultimate point and click user interface. If handguns cause crime, mine is defective. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Fri Dec 24 23:15:16 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010 23:15:16 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Saturday - 1 Samuel 15 Message-ID: <4D156FD4.1040902@bibleseven.com> Saturday 1 Samuel 15 Saul Is Rejected as King 15:1 Then Samuel said to Saul, "I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. 15:2 Here is what the Lord of hosts says: 'I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed Israel along the way when Israel came up from Egypt. 15:3 So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don't spare them. Put them to death -- man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.'" 15:4 So Saul assembled the army and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. 15:5 Saul proceeded to the city of Amalek, where he set an ambush in the wadi. 15:6 Saul said to the Kenites, "Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites! Otherwise I will sweep you away with them! After all, you were kind to all the Israelites when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites. 15:7 Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is next to Egypt. 15:8 He captured King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he executed all Agag's people with the sword. 15:9 However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised and worthless. 15:10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 15:11 "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do." Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night. 15:12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, "Saul has gone to Carmel where he is setting up a monument for himself. Then Samuel left and went down to Gilgal." 15:13 When Samuel came to him, Saul said to him, "May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said." 15:14 Samuel replied, "If that is the case, then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?" 15:15 Saul said, "They were brought from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered." 15:16 Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait a minute! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night." Saul said to him, "Tell me." 15:17 Samuel said, "Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose you as king over Israel. 15:18 The Lord sent you on a campaign saying, 'Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you have destroyed them.' 15:19 Why haven't you obeyed the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord's estimation." 15:20 Then Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the Lord! I went on the campaign the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. 15:21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle -- the best of what was to be slaughtered -- to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." 15:22 Then Samuel said, "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams. 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and presumption is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king." 15:24 Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and what you said as well. For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. 15:25 Now please forgive my sin! Go back with me so I can worship the Lord." 15:26 Samuel said to Saul, "I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!" 15:27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. 15:28 Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you! 15:29 The Preeminent One of Israel does not go back on his word or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind." 15:30 Saul again replied, "I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the Lord your God." 15:31 So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord. Samuel Puts Agag to Death 15:32 Then Samuel said, "Bring me King Agag of the Amalekites." So Agag came to him trembling, thinking to himself, "Surely death is bitter!" 15:33 Samuel said, "Just as your sword left women childless, so your mother will be the most bereaved among women!" Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces there in Gilgal before the Lord. 15:34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, while Saul went up to his home in Gibeah of Saul. 15:35 Until the day he died Samuel did not see Saul again. Samuel did, however, mourn for Saul, but the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. Prayer Lord, when You give an instruction You expect it to be obeyed to the letter, no modifications. May I never alter Your Word, for any reason. Commentary The Lord God, through Samuel, gave Saul instructions to obliterate the Amalekites. Saul allowed his army to plunder the best and he also took their king prisoner rather than killing him on the battlefield. When Samuel was informed of Saul's disobedience by the Lord God he was upset and immediately sought Saul. When confronted Saul made excuses but when Samuel shared God's condemnation of him, and God's intent to remove him as king, he confessed and begged Samuel to make an offering to God to turn away His wrath. Samuel refused as God had made a final decision. Saul then asked Samuel to honor him as king and come to make a sacrifice to the Lord God, with no petition for God to alter His plan and Samuel did so. After they had worshipped the Lord Samuel commanded that the Amalekite king be brought to him and he killed him. Samuel left Saul and though he was sad about and for him he was never with him again; this is perhaps explained by the text "... the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel." Interaction Consider The Lord God was always explicit in His instructions prior to battle, Saul would not have been in doubt that he was expected to gather no plunder, nor to allow his soldiers to do so. Discuss Saul was Israel's first human king but the judges and prophets, who led them prior to him, had exercised considerable discipline during military conflicts. Why was Saul so weak as a leader in comparison to Moses and Joshua? Reflect When the Lord God declared an end to Saul's kingship there was no more purpose for Samuel to interact with him. Share When have you observe a religious leader behaving in an impetuous and Biblically-improper manner? How did that impact his witness in the community? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where you may be making your own small "adjustments" to the Word of God in order to suit your purposes, out of fear of others, a desire to benefit others, or for direct personal gain. Action: Today I will confess and repent of my sin, however small it may seem to me. I will request and accept the Lord God's forgiveness. I will purge that sin from my life and build an accountability system of prayer and a prayer-partner to keep me faithful. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Sunday's text will be: 1 Samuel 23:16 -- 24:22 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sat Dec 25 20:50:23 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sat, 25 Dec 2010 20:50:23 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Sunday - 1 Samuel 16 Message-ID: <4D169F5F.3000405@bibleseven.com> Sunday 1 Samuel 16 Samuel Anoints David as King 16:1 The Lord said to Samuel, "How long do you intend to mourn for Saul? I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with olive oil and go! I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem, for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons." 16:2 Samuel replied, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!" But the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' 16:3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you should do. You will anoint for me the one I point out to you." 16:4 Samuel did what the Lord told him. When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the city were afraid to meet him. They said, "Do you come in peace?" 16:5 He replied, "Yes, in peace. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." So he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 16:6 When they arrived, Samuel noticed Eliab and said to himself, "Surely, here before the Lord stands his chosen king!" 16:7 But the Lord said to Samuel, "Don't be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 16:8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one, either." 16:9 Then Jesse presented Shammah. But Samuel said, "The Lord has not chosen this one either." 16:10 Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." 16:11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Is that all of the young men?" Jesse replied, "There is still the youngest one, but he's taking care of the flock." Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here." 16:12 So Jesse had him brought in. Now he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance. The Lord said, "Go and anoint him. This is the one!" 16:13 So Samuel took the horn full of olive oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day onward. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah. David Appears before Saul 16:14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. 16:15 Then Saul's servants said to him, "Look, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you!" 16:16 Let our lord instruct his servants who are here before you to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon you, he can play the lyre and you will feel better." 16:17 So Saul said to his servants, "Find me a man who plays well and bring him to me." 16:18 One of his attendants replied, "I have seen a son of Jesse in Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior and is articulate and handsome, for the Lord is with him." 16:19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is out with the sheep. 16:20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine, and a young goat and sent them to Saul with his son David. 16:21 David came to Saul and stood before him. Saul liked him a great deal, and he became his armor bearer. 16:22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse saying, "Let David be my servant, for I really like him." 16:23 So whenever the spirit from God would come upon Saul, David would take his lyre and play it. This would bring relief to Saul and make him feel better. Then the evil spirit would leave him alone. Prayer Lord, You give gifts to those whom You choose to give them so that they may serve You, and You remove from Your blessing those whom You have rejected. May I be faithful so that You may pour out Your blessings through me to others. Commentary The Lord God challenged Samuel to stop mourning for Saul's failed kingship and told him that He had chosen another to be king and for Samuel to go to Jesse to find and anoint him. Samuel, afraid of the impetuous and violent Saul, expressed his fear that Saul would kill him if he found out. God ignored Samuel's worrying and gave him further instructions. When Samuel arrived in Bethlehem the people were fearful that he had come to judge them but he calmed them with instructions to prepare to worship the Lord God. He then reviewed each of Jesse's sons but the Lord rejected each, explaining to Samuel that He did not see them as mere men saw them. Finally Jesse was told to bring his youngest in from the field, who was David, and he was the one the Lord God had chosen. David, like Saul, was an handsome young man. Samuel anointed him and the Holy Spirit came upon him. Samuel then left. After a time Saul, whom the Lord had abandoned, was tormented by demons and his advisers suggested that he find someone to play the lyre to chase them away. They had heard that David had such a gift from the Lord so Saul sent for him. Saul was unaware of David's anointing but liked him, and the positive effect of his lyre, so he told Jesse he was making him his royal armor bearer. Interaction Consider Samuel was oddly fearful of Saul despite his intimate relationship with the all-powerful Lord God. Discuss While Saul was unaware, David knew that he was God's anointed, how fearful might he have been in the court of the demon-harassed and naturally-impetuous and jealous Saul? Reflect The Lord God chose human kings for Israel whose physical appearance would appeal to the people because they had demonstrated a shallowness that made such things important to them. Share When have you observed, and/or participated in, Christians choosing leaders with a significant emphasis upon their physical appearance? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place in your life where you forget that God is all-powerful and are instead so fearful of man that you hesitate to do what is God's will. Action: Today I will confess those places and times that I have allowed my fear of man to block or slow my obedient service to the Lord. It may be the fear of ridicule or harm to social standing, loss of a promotion in the workplace -- or maybe even termination, other members of a fellowship who would rather avoid conflict than stand for truth, or some other circumstance. I request and received God's forgiveness and then pray for courage and wisdom. I will also ask a fellow believer to pray in-agreement for courage and wisdom as well as protection. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Monday's text will be: 1 Samuel 17 -- A blessed New Year in the Lord Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Sun Dec 26 21:41:13 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2010 21:41:13 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Monday - 1 Samuel 17 Message-ID: <4D17FCC9.8080601@bibleseven.com> Monday 1 Samuel 17 David Kills Goliath 17:1 The Philistines gathered their troops for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah. 17:2 Saul and the Israelite army assembled and camped in the valley of Elah, where they arranged their battle lines to fight against the Philistines. 17:3 The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites on another hill, with the valley between them. 17:4 Then a champion came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath; he was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall. 17:5 He had a bronze helmet on his head and was wearing scale body armor. The weight of his bronze body armor was five thousand shekels. 17:6 He had bronze shin guards on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders. 17:7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed six hundred shekels. His shield bearer was walking before him. 17:8 Goliath stood and called to Israel's troops, "Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man so he may come down to me! 17:9 If he is able to fight with me and strike me down, we will become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down, you will become our servants and will serve us." 17:10 Then the Philistine said, "I defy Israel's troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight each other!" 17:11 When Saul and all the Israelites heard these words of the Philistine, they were upset and very afraid. 17:12 Now David was the son of this Ephrathite named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah. He had eight sons, and in Saul's days he was old and well advanced in years. 17:13 Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to war. The names of the three sons who went to war were Eliab, his firstborn, Abinadab, the second oldest, and Shammah, the third oldest. 17:14 Now David was the youngest. While the three oldest sons followed Saul, 17:15 David was going back and forth from Saul in order to care for his father's sheep in Bethlehem. 17:16 Meanwhile for forty days the Philistine approached every morning and evening and took his position. 17:17 Jesse said to his son David, "Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread; go quickly to the camp to your brothers. 17:18 Also take these ten portions of cheese to their commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are doing and bring back their pledge that they received the goods. 17:19 They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines." 17:20 So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock to someone else who would watch over it. After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed him. He arrived at the camp as the army was going out to the battle lines shouting its battle cry. 17:21 Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines opposite one another. 17:22 After David had entrusted his cargo to the care of the supply officer, he ran to the battlefront. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. 17:23 As he was speaking with them, the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was coming up from the battle lines of the Philistines. He spoke the way he usually did, and David heard it. 17:24 When all the men of Israel saw this man, they retreated from his presence and were very afraid. 17:25 The men of Israel said, "Have you seen this man who is coming up? He does so to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can strike him down very wealthy! He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his father's house exempt from tax obligations in Israel." 17:26 David asked the men who were standing near him, "What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?" 17:27 The soldiers told him what had been promised, saying, "This is what will be done for the man who can strike him down." 17:28 When David's oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became angry with David and said, "Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit! You have come down here to watch the battle!" 17:29 David replied, "What have I done now? Can't I say anything?" 17:30 Then he turned from those who were nearby to someone else and asked the same question, but they gave him the same answer as before. 17:31 When David's words were overheard and reported to Saul, he called for him. 17:32 David said to Saul, "Don't let anyone be discouraged. Your servant will go and fight this Philistine!" 17:33 But Saul replied to David, "You aren't able to go against this Philistine and fight him! You're just a boy! He has been a warrior from his youth!" 17:34 David replied to Saul, "Your servant has been a shepherd for his father's flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock, 17:35 I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth. If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its jaw, strike it, and kill it. 17:36 Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them. For he has defied the armies of the living God!" 17:37 David went on to say, "The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine!" Then Saul said to David, "Go! The Lord will be with you." 17:38 Then Saul clothed David with his own fighting attire and put a bronze helmet on his head. He also put body armor on him. 17:39 David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was not used to them. David said to Saul, "I can't walk in these things, for I'm not used to them." So David removed them. 17:40 He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine. 17:41 The Philistine kept coming closer to David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. 17:42 When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy. 17:43 The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?" Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 17:44 The Philistine said to David, "Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!" 17:45 But David replied to the Philistine, "You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel's armies, whom you have defied! 17:46 This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God 17:47 and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord's, and he will deliver you into our hand." 17:48 The Philistine drew steadily closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack the Philistine. 17:49 David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone. He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground. 17:50 David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. 17:51 David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath's sword, drew it from its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away. 17:52 Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry. They chased the Philistines to the valley and to the very gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 17:53 When the Israelites returned from their hot pursuit of the Philistines, they looted their camp. 17:54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath's weapons in his tent. 17:55 Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general in command of the army, "Whose son is this young man, Abner?" Abner replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know." 17:56 The king said, "Find out whose son this boy is!" 17:57 So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul. He still had the head of the Philistine in his hand. 17:58 Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" David replied, "I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem." Prayer Lord, You are a holy and righteous God and You are not pleased when anyone attacks and/or demeans Your children, both then and now. May I be sensitive to Your righteous indignation when anyone, including me, is disrespectful to You, Your Word, or Your "Church" (every believer, gathered or alone). Commentary While David's older brothers served in King Saul's army he continued to serve his father as a shepherd as well as Saul's armor bearer any lyre-playing spiritual comforter. The Israelite army and the Philistines were gathered for battle when the Philistines presented a huge warrior named Goliath who challenged the Israelites to send forth a single champion to fight and thereby avoid the carnage of a full-scale battle. He did so with a clear size advantage, heavy armor, and superior weaponry. David's father, Jesse, was now elderly and was concerned for his sons who were on the battlefield. Jesse was unaware of Goliath's presence nor of his challenge but only sent David with some supplies in order to determine their well-being. When David arrived he heard of the Philistine from whom the Israelites cowered, and he heard that King Saul was so desperate for a champion that he had promised to make that man wealthy, to free his father's house from taxes, and his daughter in marriage. David became angry because the Holy Spirit had made him keenly aware that the Israelites were the special people of the Lord God and innocently asked why no one had answered the challenge. David's brothers, embarrassed by his simple faith and their obvious lack thereof, attacked him with demeaning words based on his age and inexperience. David asked others the same question of righteous indignation and this was reported to Saul. Saul summoned David and he volunteered to serve as Israel's champion against Goliath. Saul was initially unwilling, observing that even looking past Goliath's size David was not an experienced soldier and Goliath was. David shared his experiences with deadly animals as a shepherd, similar stories to those of Samson, and then declared that he would be enabled by the Lord God to do the same to Goliath. Saul, desperate for a champion as he and the entire army had stood paralyzed in fear for several days, agreed. He tried to dress David in his own armor but it was too heavy and large and David had no need of it. David greeted Saul with his shepherd's staff and a sling and stones and Goliath was indignant that he was not challenged by a peer soldier. Goliath cursed David by his false pagan gods and declared that he would feed David to the dogs. David responded that Goliath and that day would be killed by the Lord God and be fed to the carrion birds, and in such a manner that everyone would no for certain that it was God and not a human weapon who delivered the victory. Goliath, enraged, charged David while he carefully loaded his stone, swung his sling, and took aim and buried the stone in Goliath's forehead -- killing him. He then took Goliath's own giant sword and cut off his head. The Philistine army fled in terror and the Israelites charged and killed many of them, looting their camp. David presented the head of Goliath in Jerusalem and placed his weapons in his tent. Saul, asked whose son David was, and David reminded him that his father was Jesse. Interaction Consider Saul was apparently so crazed on those occasions when David was called to play the lyre and sooth him that he did not recall what David looked like when he interacted with him on the battlefield. Discuss Do we have the same righteous indignation when we heard the Lord God's "Church" (the body of believers) cursed and disrespected by pagans? Reflect The parallels of the Holy Spirit giving power for victory between David and Samson are worthy of note, not only in the killing of dangerous wild animals, but also in battle. In the text David could not carry the weight of Saul's armor yet he could lift Goliath's massive sword and use it to cut off his head. Share When have you felt the righteous indignation of the Holy Spirit within when someone in a fellowship misrepresented the Word of God or when a non-believer verbally attacked a Christian or Christians in general? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where you need to trust Him more, to have a greater awareness of His value for His children, and to speak boldly when His name is disrespected inside and outside the family of God. Action: Today I will prayerfully renew my commitment to see myself and all fellow believers as God sees us, children of the one true God whom He calls "saints". I will receive from the Holy Spirit a greater sense of confidence to speak and act boldly when he prompts me to do so, and to respectfully challenge those who dare to suggest that He is not able, and to decisively-challenge spiritual forces who attack me or fellow believers. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Tuesday's text will be: 1 Samuel 18 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Mon Dec 27 20:51:20 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2010 20:51:20 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Tuesday - Samuel 18 Message-ID: <4D194298.1040800@bibleseven.com> Tuesday 1 Samuel 18 Saul Comes to Fear David 18:1 When David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan and David became bound together in close friendship. Jonathan loved David as much as he did his own life. 18:2 Saul retained David on that day and did not allow him to return to his father's house. 18:3 Jonathan made a covenant with David, for he loved him as much as he did his own life. 18:4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with the rest of his gear, including his sword, his bow, and even his belt. 18:5 On every mission on which Saul sent him, David achieved success. So Saul appointed him over the men of war. This pleased not only all the army, but also Saul's servants. 18:6 When the men arrived after David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women from all the cities of Israel came out singing and dancing to meet King Saul. They were happy as they played their tambourines and three-stringed instruments. 18:7 The women who were playing the music sang, "Saul has struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands!" 18:8 This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought, "They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?" 18:9 So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward. 18:10 The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied within his house. Now David was playing the lyre that day. There was a spear in Saul's hand, 18:11 and Saul threw the spear, thinking, "I'll nail David to the wall!" But David escaped from him on two different occasions. 18:12 So Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. 18:13 Saul removed David from his presence and made him a commanding officer. David led the army out to battle and back. 18:14 Now David achieved success in all he did, for the Lord was with him. 18:15 When Saul saw how very successful he was, he was afraid of him. 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he was the one leading them out to battle and back. 18:17 Then Saul said to David, "Here's my oldest daughter, Merab. I want to give her to you in marriage. Only be a brave warrior for me and fight the battles of the Lord." For Saul thought, "There's no need for me to raise my hand against him. Let it be the hand of the Philistines!" 18:18 David said to Saul, "Who am I? Who are my relatives or the clan of my father in Israel that I should become the king's son-in-law?" 18:19 When the time came for Merab, Saul's daughter, to be given to David, she instead was given in marriage to Adriel, who was from Meholah. 18:20 Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. When they told Saul about this, it pleased him. 18:21 Saul said, "I will give her to him so that she may become a snare to him and the hand of the Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David, "Today is the second time for you to become my son-in-law." 18:22 Then Saul instructed his servants, "Tell David secretly, 'The king is pleased with you, and all his servants like you. So now become the king's son-in-law." 18:23 So Saul's servants spoke these words privately to David. David replied, "Is becoming the king's son-in-law something insignificant to you? I'm just a poor and lightly-esteemed man!" 18:24 When Saul's servants reported what David had said, 18:25 Saul replied, "Here is what you should say to David: 'There is nothing that the king wants as a price for the bride except a hundred Philistine foreskins, so that he can be avenged of his enemies.'" (Now Saul was thinking that he could kill David by the hand of the Philistines.) 18:26 So his servants told David these things and David agreed to become the king's son-in-law. Now the specified time had not yet expired 18:27 when David, along with his men, went out and struck down two hundred Philistine men. David brought their foreskins and presented all of them to the king so he could become the king's son-in-law. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage. 18:28 When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David, 18:29 Saul became even more afraid of him. Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on. 18:30 Then the leaders of the Philistines would march out, and as often as they did so, David achieved more success than all of Saul's servants. His name was held in high esteem. Prayer Lord, You bless whomsoever You will bless, and to withhold blessing from those whom You determine to be in opposition to You. May I be intentional in my availability to You, my loyalty to You -- expressed in obedience, and my praise and worship of You as the One True and Holy Lord God. Commentary Jonathan, who had previously demonstrated a greater level of sensitivity to the Lord, immediately bonded with David -- giving to him his armor and weapons and other clothing. Saul, always seeking a military or personal or political advantage and observing that the Lord was blessing David, conscripted him into the army and every battle David led was victorious. This also pleased the army, with whom Saul had a historically-uneasy relationship. As they returned to the city from their campaigns against the Philistines the women welcomed them with songs of praise for Saul, but more generous praise for David, and this angered the proud Saul. Because Saul was estranged from God he was vulnerable to the enemy and an "evil spirit from God" [Much like the "hardening" of Pharaoh's heart was an amplification of a pre-existing condition of Pharaoh's choice and not an original source of Pharaoh's refusal to honor the Lord God, this "spirit" was not "evil" originating from God but was one which God now allowed to trouble Saul because of his former acts of disobedience which severed his relationship with God. There is no evil in God.] troubled him again, as it had before. Saul was so affected by the presence of the evil spirit that he threw his spear at David, but the Lord God protected David each time this happened. Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with David so he sent him away to war -- but the army and the people loved David even more because God continued to give him success. Saul offered his first daughter to David but David protested that he had no family-standing to become the son-in-law of the king, so she was given to another. Saul's next daughter, Michal, loved David and Saul thought it might create the opportunity to manipulate David into danger -- so he challenged David to bring 100 Philistine foreskins (hoping the Philistines would kill him as he attempted the feat) but David was blessed by the Lord and brought him 200 from Philistines he and his men killed in battle. Saul now faced a daughter married to David who loved him and the Lord God who was with David and estranged from Saul, and whenever David fought the Philistines he had more success than any of Saul's other military leaders. Interaction Consider Saul was like the kings of the pagan people around the Israelites, just as they had demanded of the Lord God, and he was as much the source of trouble as God had warned he would be. Discuss Why would Saul, who had during one brief time an intimate relationship with the Lord God, imagine that he could kill one whom God was clearly blessing? Reflect David would later cause the death of Bathsheba husband in much the same way that Saul tried to cause his. Share When have you observed someone under attack but whose life continued to be blessed because they loved and were loved by the Lord God? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place where He is blessing you despite attacks and difficulties. Action: Today I will stop and reflect and celebrate in prayer and worship the ways that the Lord God has blessed me despite attacks and/or difficulties. I will share my story of praise with another believer as an encouragement. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Wednesday's text will be: 1 Samuel 19 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Tue Dec 28 20:48:30 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Tue, 28 Dec 2010 20:48:30 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Wednesday - 1 Samuel 19 Message-ID: <4D1A936E.9060300@bibleseven.com> Wednesday 1 Samuel 19 Saul Repeatedly Attempts to Take David's Life 19:1 Then Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Saul's son Jonathan liked David very much. 19:2 So Jonathan told David, "My father Saul is trying to kill you. So be careful tomorrow morning. Find a hiding place and stay in seclusion. 19:3 I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are. I will speak about you to my father. When I find out what the problem is, I will let you know." 19:4 So Jonathan spoke on David's behalf to his father Saul. He said to him, "The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you. On the contrary, his actions have been very beneficial for you. 19:5 He risked his life when he struck down the Philistine and the Lord gave all Israel a great victory. When you saw it, you were happy. So why would you sin against innocent blood by putting David to death for no reason?" 19:6 Saul accepted Jonathan's advice and took an oath, "As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death." 19:7 Then Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he served him as he had done formerly. 19:8 Now once again there was war. So David went out to fight the Philistines. He defeated them thoroughly and they ran away from him. 19:9 Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul. He was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing the lyre. 19:10 Saul tried to nail David to the wall with the spear, but he escaped from Saul's presence and the spear drove into the wall. David escaped quickly that night. 19:11 Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Then David's wife Michal told him, "If you do not save yourself tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!" 19:12 So Michal lowered David through the window, and he ran away and escaped. 19:13 Then Michal took a household idol and put it on the bed. She put a quilt made of goat's hair over its head and then covered the idol with a garment. 19:14 When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, "He's sick." 19:15 Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him." 19:16 When the messengers came, they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goat's hair at its head. 19:17 Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!" Michal replied to Saul, "He said to me, 'Help me get away or else I will kill you!'" 19:18 Now David had run away and escaped. He went to Samuel in Ramah and told him everything that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went and stayed at Naioth. 19:19 It was reported to Saul saying, "David is at Naioth in Ramah." 19:20 So Saul sent messengers to capture David. When they saw a company of prophets prophesying with Samuel standing there as their leader, the spirit of God came upon Saul's messengers, and they also prophesied. 19:21 When it was reported to Saul, he sent more messengers, but they prophesied too. So Saul sent messengers a third time, but they also prophesied. 19:22 Finally Saul himself went to Ramah. When he arrived at the large cistern that is in Secu, he asked, "Where are Samuel and David?" They said, "At Naioth in Ramah." 19:23 So Saul went to Naioth in Ramah. The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah. 19:24 He even stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel. He lay there naked all that day and night. (For that reason it is asked, "Is Saul also among the prophets?") Prayer Lord, You protect those whom You have called to serve, and You allow those who have turned away from You to be tormented by the prince of this world whom they have chosen over You. May I be faithful so that You will choose to use me. Commentary Saul instructed everyone to kill David but Jonathan challenged him, reminding him that David had served him faithfully, so Saul relented and David returned to his home with Michal. Israel was again at war and David was given a significant victory by the Lord God. When David returned and was playing the lyre for Saul an evil spirit again agitated Saul and he once-again threw his spear at David, despite his prior promise to not do so. David escaped, with Michal's assistance, as Saul returned to his all-out effort to kill him. David joined Samuel and shared Saul's conduct then the two of them joined the other prophets where they prophesied together. Saul sent men for David but the Holy Spirit overcame them and they prophesied, he sent two more groups with the same result so he went himself and was also overcome to where he stripped and laid on the ground all night prophesying. Interaction Consider Jonathan seemed to be able to get his father's attention but Saul was otherwise constantly victimized by demons. Discuss What might the Lord God been intending to teach by causing Saul's "messengers", and Saul himself, to prophesy? Reflect What did it say about Saul's deadly temper that Michal found it necessary to lie about her reasons for helping David to escape his murderous schemes? Share When have you dealt with someone whose moods swung so wildly that you never were certain if it was even safe to be around them? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone who could use your encouragement and prayers to be set free from harassing evil spirits. Action: Today I will learn what I need about spiritual warfare and pray in earnest for the one whom the Holy Spirit identifies. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Thursday's text will be: 1 Samuel 20 -- Merry CHRISTmas Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Dec 29 13:47:41 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:47:41 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Homosexual to lead NC church group Message-ID: <4D1B824D.4020600@lightlink.com> Note: This is the NCC (National Council of Churches) involvement, which is as far left (like pink socks and red undies) as you can get! Fred http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=1262258 -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From fmiller at lightlink.com Wed Dec 29 13:47:59 2010 From: fmiller at lightlink.com (Fred A. Miller) Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 13:47:59 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] OT: Homosexual to lead NC church group Message-ID: <4D1B825F.4070702@lightlink.com> Note: This is the NCC (National Council of Churches) involvement, which is as far left (like pink socks and red undies) as you can get! Fred http://www.onenewsnow.com/Church/Default.aspx?id=1262258 -- "Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." Thomas Jefferson -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Wed Dec 29 19:55:07 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 19:55:07 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Thursday - 1 Samuel 20 Message-ID: <4D1BD86B.60509@bibleseven.com> Thursday 1 Samuel 20 Jonathan Seeks to Protect David 20:1 David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came to Jonathan and asked, "What have I done? What is my offense? How have I sinned before your father? For he is seeking my life!" 20:2 Jonathan said to him, "By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing large or small without making me aware of it. Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won't happen!" 20:3 Taking an oath, David again said, "Your father is very much aware of the fact that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, 'Don't let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.' But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!" 20:4 Jonathan replied to David, "Tell me what I can do for you." 20:5 David said to Jonathan, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and I am certainly expected to join the king for a meal. You must send me away so I can hide in the field until the third evening from now. 20:6 If your father happens to miss me, you should say, 'David urgently requested me to let him go to his city Bethlehem, for there is an annual sacrifice there for his entire family.' 20:7 If he should then say, 'That's fine,' then your servant is safe. But if he becomes very angry, be assured that he has decided to harm me. 20:8 You must be loyal to your servant, for you have made a covenant with your servant in the Lord's name. If I am guilty, you yourself kill me! Why bother taking me to your father?" 20:9 Jonathan said, "Far be it from you to suggest this! If I were at all aware that my father had decided to harm you, wouldn't I tell you about it?" 20:10 David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?" 20:11 Jonathan said to David, "Come on. Let's go out to the field." When the two of them had gone out into the field, 20:12 Jonathan said to David, "The Lord God of Israel is my witness. I will feel out my father about this time the day after tomorrow. If he is favorably inclined toward David, will I not then send word to you and let you know? 20:13 But if my father intends to do you harm, may the Lord do all this and more to Jonathan, if I don't let you know and send word to you so you can go safely on your way. May the Lord be with you, as he was with my father. 20:14 While I am still alive, extend to me the loyalty of the Lord, or else I will die! 20:15 Don't ever cut off your loyalty to my family, not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth 20:16 and called David's enemies to account." So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David. 20:17 Jonathan once again took an oath with David, because he loved him. In fact Jonathan loved him as much as he did his own life. 20:18 Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, for your seat will be empty. 20:19 On the third day you should go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself the day this all started. Stay near the stone Ezel. 20:20 I will shoot three arrows near it, as though I were shooting at a target. 20:21 When I send a boy after them, I will say, "Go and find the arrows." If I say to the boy, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you; get them,' then come back. For as surely as the Lord lives, you will be safe and there will no problem. 20:22 But if I say to the boy, "Look, the arrows are on the other side of you,' get away. For in that case the Lord has sent you away. 20:23 With regard to the matter that you and I discussed, the Lord is the witness between us forever!" 20:24 So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. 20:25 The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him and Abner at his side. But David's place was vacant. 20:26 However, Saul said nothing about it that day, for he thought, "Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean." 20:27 But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David's place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why has Jesse's son not come to the meal yesterday or today?" 20:28 Jonathan replied to Saul, "David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. 20:29 He said, 'Permit me to go, for we are having a family sacrifice in the city, and my brother urged me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go to see my brothers.' For that reason he has not come to the king's table." 20:30 Saul became angry with Jonathan and said to him, "You stupid traitor! Don't I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother's nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse? 20:31 For as long as this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!" 20:32 Jonathan responded to his father Saul, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?" 20:33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced that his father had decided to kill David. 20:34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David. 20:35 The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. 20:36 He said to his servant, "Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot." As the servant ran, Jonathan shot the arrow beyond him. 20:37 When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to the servant, "Isn't the arrow further beyond you?" 20:38 Jonathan called out to the servant, "Hurry! Go faster! Don't delay!" Jonathan's servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. 20:39 (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.) 20:40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, "Go, take these things back to the city." 20:41 When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound, knelt with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. 20:42 Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, 'The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.'" (21:1) Then David got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the city. Prayer Lord, when even leaders break fellowship with You they become victims of the enemy, but You protect those who are faithful to you from harm -- though not necessarily from hurt. Commentary David challenged Jonathan to explain what he had done wrong that Saul was trying to kill him. The last Jonathan knew Saul had pledged to not try to kill David, so he was surprised, even more so because he believed that his father told him everything. David observed that Saul knew of Jonathan's friendship with him and so may have avoided saying anything about his schemes. Jonathan pledged to find out and to send a message to David if he was safe or not. When Saul discovered that Jonathan was sympathetic to David he threw a spear at him as he had David, but Jonathan was not harmed. Jonathan warned David and he fled to a greater distance from Saul. Both Jonathan and David were terribly saddened both because of the evil Saul was doing and that they could not be together as brother-like friends. Interaction Consider Jonathan and David were faithful to the Lord God and therefore their word, when given, had lasting meaning. Saul, estranged from the Lord God, was unpredictable as he was subject to the manipulation of the enemy. Discuss How heartbroken must Jonathan have been, not only caught between David and his father Saul, but then have Saul throw a spear at him? Reflect Jonathan risked his life for his friend David because they were bonded through their common relationship with the Lord God. Share When have you experienced a unique relationship with a friend because the Lord God was in-common between you and was working through you together? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of a current relationship which exists because of a mutual faithfulness to Him and one into which you may want to invest more encouragement and prayer. Action: Today I will speak and/or write a word of encouragement, and say a special prayer, for the one whom the Holy Spirit brings to my attention. I will praise the Lord for a dear friend in Christ. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Friday's text will be: 1 Samuel 21-22:5 -- A blessed new year drawing nearer to the Lord, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Fri Dec 31 20:56:56 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2010 20:56:56 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] =?windows-1252?q?Saturday_-_1_Samuel_22=3A6_?= =?windows-1252?q?=96_23=3A15?= Message-ID: <4D1E89E8.4010204@bibleseven.com> Saturday 1 Samuel 22:6 ? 23:15 Saul Executes the Priests 22:6 But Saul found out the whereabouts of David and the men who were with him. Now Saul was sitting at Gibeah under the tamarisk tree at an elevated location with his spear in hand and all his servants stationed around him. 22:7 Saul said to his servants who were stationed around him, ?Listen up, you Benjaminites! Is Jesse?s son giving fields and vineyards to all of you? Or is he making all of you commanders and officers? 22:8 For all of you have conspired against me! No one informs me when my own son makes an agreement with this son of Jesse! Not one of you feels sorry for me or informs me that my own son has commissioned my own servant to hide in ambush against me, as is the case today!? 22:9 But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with the servants of Saul, replied, ?I saw this son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. 22:10 He inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.? 22:11 Then the king arranged for a meeting with the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and all the priests of his father?s house who were at Nob. They all came to the king. 22:12 Then Saul said, ?Listen, son of Ahitub.? He replied, ?Here I am, my lord.? 22:13 Saul said to him, ?Why have you conspired against me, you and this son of Jesse? You gave him bread and a sword and inquired of God on his behalf, so that he opposes me and waits in ambush, as is the case today!? 22:14 Ahimelech replied to the king, ?Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king?s son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house! 22:15 Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse his servant or any of my father?s house. For your servant is not aware of all this ? not in whole or in part!? 22:16 But the king said, ?You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father?s house! 22:17 Then the king said to the messengers who were stationed beside him, ?Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me.? But the king?s servants refused to harm the priests of the Lord. 22:18 Then the king said to Doeg, ?You turn and strike down the priests!? So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five men who wore the linen ephod. 22:19 As for Nob, the city of the priests, he struck down with the sword men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep ? all with the sword. 22:20 But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub escaped and fled to David. His name was Abiathar. 22:21 Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord. 22:22 Then David said to Abiathar, ?I knew that day when Doeg the Edomite was there that he would certainly tell Saul! I am guilty of all the deaths in your father?s house! 22:23 Stay with me. Don?t be afraid! Whoever seeks my life is seeking your life as well. You are secure with me.? David Delivers the City of Keilah 23:1 They told David, ?The Philistines are fighting in Keilah and are looting the threshing floors.? 23:2 So David asked the Lord, ?Should I go and strike down these Philistines?? The Lord said to David, ?Go, strike down the Philistines and deliver Keilah.? 23:3 But David?s men said to him, ?We are afraid while we are still here in Judah! What will it be like if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?? 23:4 So David asked the Lord once again. But again the Lord replied, ?Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.? 23:5 So David and his men went to Keilah and fought the Philistines. He took away their cattle and thoroughly defeated them. David delivered the inhabitants of Keilah. David Eludes Saul Again 23:6 Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech had fled to David at Keilah, he had brought with him an ephod. 23:7 When Saul was told that David had come to Keilah, Saul said, ?God has delivered him into my hand, for he has boxed himself into a corner by entering a city with two barred gates.? 23:8 So Saul mustered all his army to go down to Keilah and besiege David and his men. 23:9 When David realized that Saul was planning to harm him, he told Abiathar the priest, ?Bring the ephod!? 23:10 Then David said, ?O Lord God of Israel, your servant has clearly heard that Saul is planning to come to Keilah to destroy the city because of me. 23:11 Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me into his hand? Will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord God of Israel, please inform your servant!? Then the Lord said, ?He will come down.? 23:12 David asked, ?Will the leaders of Keilah deliver me and my men into Saul?s hand?? The Lord said, ?They will deliver you over.? 23:13 So David and his men, who numbered about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they moved around from one place to another. When told that David had escaped from Keilah, Saul called a halt to his expedition. 23:14 David stayed in the strongholds that were in the desert and in the hill country of the desert of Ziph. Saul looked for him all the time, but God did not deliver David into his hand. 23:15 David realized that Saul had come out to seek his life; at that time David was in Horesh in the desert of Ziph. Prayer Lord, when leaders distance themselves from You the only alternative is the enemy, the same is true of every person. May I pray for leaders and be intentional about keeping my eyes on Jesus. Commentary The Israelites had a historically-uneasy relationship with the Edomites; as descendants of Esau (Gen. 36:43) they were relatives, but they were often aggressive, and they lacked a sense of loyalty to traditional Israelite values. Saul found out that David had received food, Godly counsel, and Goliath's sword from the priests he was furious. Despite the clear evidence that the priests were unaware of the breach between Saul and David he wanted the priests killed. When none of those in Saul's court would kill a priest Doeg the Edomite, who had found his way into Saul's corrupted inner-circle, volunteered. Doeg also killed and destroyed across Nob, the city of the priests. Only one son of the priests escaped and informed David. David blamed himself, though Saul and Doeg's evil was their own choice, and promised to keep the young man safe. Hearing that the city of Keilah was under siege from the Philistines David twice consulted God and received assurances that he should rescue them. After his victory Saul heard he was there and set out to trap him. David again consulted the Lord God and was informed that the people of the city would give him over to Saul so he left with his men for strongholds in the desert and the hills and Saul was unable to find him. Interaction Consider Saul was past the point of reason and without access to the Lord God. That he would order his men to murder the priest was evidence that he was heavily influenced by ?evil spirits?. Discuss While David did deceive the priests when he visited them, why would he feel responsible for the reprehensible choice of Saul and Doeg to murder them? Reflect Even though he was on the run from the King David was still willing to take the risk to save others from the Philistines. He was wiser than Saul and consulted the Lord God first. Share When have you decided to do the right thing even those those in authority over you were making your circumstances difficult and might ? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to direct your attention to a leader for whom you need to pray and for a place where you need to step out in faith to do the right, albeit risky, thing. Action: Today I will pray in-earnest for a leader, in a Christian fellowship, or in government. I will pray that they will turn away from every influence that is not of the Lord God, that they will become devoted servants of God, and that their lives and leadership will be salt and light through the humility and wisdom they receive from the Holy Spirit. I will also step out in faith to do the right thing, as the Holy Spirit guides, and I will do so with accountability and prayers in-agreement from a fellow believer. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Sunday's text will be: 1 Samuel 23:16 - 24:22 -- A blessed new year drawing nearer to the Lord, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From pastordavid at bibleseven.com Thu Dec 30 20:25:40 2010 From: pastordavid at bibleseven.com (pastordavid at bibleseven.com) Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:25:40 -0500 Subject: [Linux4christians] Friday - 1 Samuel 21-22:5 Message-ID: <4D1D3114.7060201@bibleseven.com> Friday 1 Samuel 21-22:5 21:1 (21:2) David went to Ahimelech the priest in Nob. Ahimelech was shaking with fear when he met David, and said to him, "Why are you by yourself with no one accompanying you?" 21:2 David replied to Ahimelech the priest, "The king instructed me to do something, but he said to me, 'Don't let anyone know the reason I am sending you or the instructions I have given you.' I have told my soldiers to wait at a certain place. 21:3 Now what do you have at your disposal? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever can be found." 21:4 The priest replied to David, "I don't have any ordinary bread at my disposal. Only holy bread is available, and then only if your soldiers have abstained from sexual relations with women." 21:5 David said to the priest, "Certainly women have been kept away from us, just as on previous occasions when I have set out. The soldiers' equipment is holy, even on an ordinary journey. How much more so will they be holy today, along with their equipment!" 21:6 So the priest gave him holy bread, for there was no bread there other than the bread of the Presence. It had been removed from before the Lord in order to replace it with hot bread on the day it had been taken away. 21:7 (One of Saul's servants was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul's shepherds.) 21:8 David said to Ahimelech, "Is there no sword or spear here at your disposal? I don't have my own sword or equipment in hand due to the urgency of the king's instructions." David Goes to Gath 21:9 The priest replied, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you struck down in the valley of Elah, is wrapped in a garment behind the ephod. If you wish, take it for yourself. Other than that, there's nothing here." David said, "There's nothing like it! Give it to me!" 21:10 So on that day David arose and fled from Saul. He went to King Achish of Gath. 21:11 The servants of Achish said to him, "Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one that they sing about when they dance, saying, 'Saul struck down his thousands, But David his tens of thousands'?" 21:12 David thought about what they said and was very afraid of King Achish of Gath. 21:13 He altered his behavior in their presence. Since he was in their power, he pretended to be insane, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard. 21:14 Achish said to his servants, "Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me? 21:15 Do I have a shortage of fools, that you have brought me this man to display his insanity in front of me? Should this man enter my house?" David Goes to Adullam and Mizpah 22:1 So David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. When his brothers and the rest of his father's family learned about it, they went down there to him. 22:2 All those who were in trouble or owed someone money or were discontented gathered around him, and he became their leader. He had about four hundred men with him. 22:3 Then David went from there to Mizpah in Moab, where he said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and mother stay with you until I know what God is going to do for me." 22:4 So he had them stay with the king of Moab; they stayed with him the whole time that David was in the stronghold. 22:5 Then Gad the prophet said to David, "Don't stay in the stronghold. Go to the land of Judah." So David left and went to the forest of Hereth. Prayer Lord, when a leader does not receive his wisdom from You all of the people in the and suffer. May my responsibilities as a leader to my family, and in my community, always be a blessing to others because I listen closely to You Commentary The whole kingdom under Saul had been corrupted by his influence, once he left the favor of the Lord God and was instead leading from his own wisdom and under the influence of "evil spirits". David, still known to most as Saul's most effective warrior, confronted a fearful priest named Ahimelech. David pretended that he was on business from Saul and demanded bread, which Ahimelech gave him from what had been removed and replaced by new holy bread. He also took away with him the sword of Goliath. David then traveled to see King Achish of Gath, hoping to find safety there, but when the people repeated the chant about David killing more Philistines and Saul he feared for his life. David pretended to be mad and was put-out of the castle and thereby escaped. David then went to the stronghold of the cave of Adullam where he was joined by members of his extended family and 400 men of dubious character; criminals, debtors, and others in some sort of trouble. David asked the king of Moab to keep his parents safe. Interaction Consider The people had demanded a mere man be given authority and placed between the people and the Lord God, so long as he listened to God things went well, when he rebelled the whole kingdom lost a sense of morality and safety. This is as the Lord God warned it would be. Discuss Isn't it amazing that despite his difficult circumstances David was so creative in acquiring food for his men, inventing a was to escape trouble in Gath, and finding a safe place for his parents? Reflect David's fear did not speak well of his confidence in the Lord God to protect him, since he knew that he was the anointed one -- the next king -- chosen by the all-powerful God. David, like Saul, tended to be impetuous and sometimes very self-absorbed. Share When have you had to adapt quickly to a difficult situation by being "clever as a fox" yet "harmless as a lamb"? Faith in Action Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a way that you might be better prepared for sudden changes in your circumstances. Action: Today I will make a list of ways that I may prepare for difficulties, which in this fallen world, are common. Perhaps I need to get out of debt, spend less and save more, buy some canned food on sale and stockpile it (in reasonable amounts), have the chimney cleaned to avoid a fire, add insulation to reduce energy costs, alter my diet to be more healthy, exercise to be more fit, study the Bible more intently to draw nearer to the Lord God, or something else that the Holy Spirit will reveal. Be Specific ______________________________________________________ Saturday 1 Samuel 22:6 -- 23:15 -- A blessed new year drawing nearer to the Lord, Have an http://Ultrafidian.com Day! Pastor David ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Personal Site: http://bibleseven.com Bible Resources: http://bible.org Teacher's Verse: John 7:16 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: