Apr 15 - 19 Teach Me Your Ways

The old testament "Joshua took control of the the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possessions, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally had rest from war." That's exactly what the next four days did was divide the land for all the tribes except for the tribe of Levi. "Instead as the Lord had promised them, their allotment came from the offerings burned on the altar to the Lord, the God of Israel." The bible talks about how the Levites roll as priests of the Lord is their allotment. The Lord promised the tribe of Levi that he himself would be their allotment. I guess if I had to choose between that and some trees I'd take God any day:)

In Luke these past few days Jesus has been firing off the parables and healing like crazy! He heals ten lepers all at once and says "Go show your selves to the priests." As they went they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them came back to Jesus,shouting "Praise god!" He fell to the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him for what he had done. He was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, "Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" I think this is HUGE in today's world. Even as Christians we get so caught up in what's bad going on that when the good does happen we take it for granted. Sometimes we just need to stop and thank God for the luxury of living.....through the good and the bad. When the good kicks in we can really fire up the praises!

Jesus tells a cool story about two men who went to the Temple to pray. "One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector." The Pharisee basically thanks God that he is not a sinner because he doesn't cheat, he fasts...etc. The tax collector on the other hand prayed "O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner." Jesus says "I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." I love the fact that our pastor relates to us in flat out telling you we are all sinners. Him included! The only one to never have sin was Jesus who died for us so that despite our sin we could be close to God. Humbleness....may not get you the big corner office on Park Avenue but it will warm the heart and open the eyes to what really matters in life......well that's the way I see it:)

Be sure to read along in your daily bible!