Lesson 11: Living in the Land
- Thread starter Chief
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Chief
Chief of Sinners.
Proverbs 15:1 – “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Core Theme: Maintaining unity within a diverse community of faith requires avoiding rash judgment, pursuing clear communication, and resolving conflicts with grace and wisdom, as illustrated by the altar dispute in Joshua 22.
Key Insights by Day:
Sunday: Commitment (Joshua 22:1-8)
Core Theme: Maintaining unity within a diverse community of faith requires avoiding rash judgment, pursuing clear communication, and resolving conflicts with grace and wisdom, as illustrated by the altar dispute in Joshua 22.
Key Insights by Day:
Sunday: Commitment (Joshua 22:1-8)
- The eastern tribes (Reuben, Gad, half-Manasseh) are commended for their faithful service alongside their western brothers, fulfilling their commitment over 6-7 years of warfare.
- Higher Calling: Their service was ultimately to God, not just to other people - a principle for all believers (Ephesians 6:7).
- Application: Our motivation in work and ministry is transformed when we see it as service to God, which sustains us through challenges.
- The western tribes, hearing the eastern tribes built an altar, immediately accuse them of apostasy and rebellion, risking civil war.
- Rash Judgment: The conflict stems from a lack of communication and a failure to seek understanding before drawing conclusions.
- Biblical Warning: We are admonished to avoid judging others' motives (John 7:24; 1 Corinthians 4:5).
- The delegation sent includes Phinehas, known for his zealous action at Baal Peor, showing how past traumas (idolatry, Achan's sin) shaped their fearful overreaction.
- The Danger of Presumption: Past failures can color our interpretation of present actions, leading to unfair suspicion.
- Our Need: God’s grace is required to prevent our past wounds from distorting how we treat others in the present.
- The eastern tribes respond with patience, clarity, and a solemn oath to God, explaining the altar was built as a memorial of unity, not for sacrifices or apostasy.
- Principle of Peace: A "gentle answer" defuses wrath. Their true motive was fear of future separation from Israel, not present rebellion.
- True Unity: Unity is based on shared allegiance to God, not geography.
- The resolution provides a model: communicate directly, avoid hasty conclusions, be willing to sacrifice for unity, give gentle answers, and rejoice when reconciliation is achieved.
- Church Application: Unity is paramount (John 17:20-23), but it cannot come at the expense of truth. Discipline is a last resort after attempts at pastoral reconciliation.
- Key Takeaway: Genuine joy and blessing follow the restoration of understanding and peace.
- Root Issue: The tension between zeal for purity and the danger of harsh, ungrounded suspicion within a community.
- The Path to Unity: It requires being "calm and considerate" even when falsely accused, trusting God to vindicate, and being driven by Christ-like charity.
- Our Call:
- Prioritize listening and seeking understanding before making accusations (James 1:19).
- Count others more significant than ourselves (Philippians 2:3).
- Perform all duties as service "to the Lord," which brings responsibility and peace.
- Constantly aim for the unity for which Christ prayed, without sacrificing principles of truth.
rob
Active member
I was told we should always try to make the other person seem right and gently lead them into your views of truth by them undergoing self discovery with you leading them, not dictating to them, otherwise we have I am right you are wrong battles of pride.
However notice when a powerful leader came to Jesus at night to enter a discussion, Jesus cuts him off immediately
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, "affirming faith" , "affirming faith", I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Jesus immediately challenges the Jews concept of faith with a startling theme : born again.
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
The man see literal things as literal. SO how can a man be born again, after the physical is already born.
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, "affirming faith" , "affirming faith", I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the "Medium" is "medium".
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the "Medium".
Notice the KJV makes "capital S and small s over the fuzzy word spirit/Spirit" which is incorrect. A better rendering of this word for all context is medium, and the Medium when referring to the Grand Medium or function of the HS.
Wind is a medium affect. it is something no from matter but is manifest in matter as media. When hot media exists close to cold media, the air carries the energy difference as "wind" a medium affect.
But the point Jesus is making "wind" is still real even though the affect is not from matter directly.
SO can you be born again through a medium, especially if the medium is divine? The answer is what part of the first borning process needs to be reborn?
The DNA genes, in my two pennies, records everything about you, your thoughts, your actions and and your intentions. So this is what causes you to become you as a character. Some of this information sits over the inherited genes as epi-genetic potential that controls the moral fabric of you being you.
SO in this respect, the Divinity functions of God do reborn you over again, bit by bit until you are reborn into the nature of Divinity without dysfunction.
And what does Jesus do with others who resist coming to Him as potential children of God?
Mt 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Many it seems cannot be made into one accord with you, so you leave them alone.
Shalom
However notice when a powerful leader came to Jesus at night to enter a discussion, Jesus cuts him off immediately
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, "affirming faith" , "affirming faith", I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Jesus immediately challenges the Jews concept of faith with a startling theme : born again.
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
The man see literal things as literal. SO how can a man be born again, after the physical is already born.
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, "affirming faith" , "affirming faith", I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the "Medium" is "medium".
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the "Medium".
Notice the KJV makes "capital S and small s over the fuzzy word spirit/Spirit" which is incorrect. A better rendering of this word for all context is medium, and the Medium when referring to the Grand Medium or function of the HS.
Wind is a medium affect. it is something no from matter but is manifest in matter as media. When hot media exists close to cold media, the air carries the energy difference as "wind" a medium affect.
But the point Jesus is making "wind" is still real even though the affect is not from matter directly.
SO can you be born again through a medium, especially if the medium is divine? The answer is what part of the first borning process needs to be reborn?
The DNA genes, in my two pennies, records everything about you, your thoughts, your actions and and your intentions. So this is what causes you to become you as a character. Some of this information sits over the inherited genes as epi-genetic potential that controls the moral fabric of you being you.
SO in this respect, the Divinity functions of God do reborn you over again, bit by bit until you are reborn into the nature of Divinity without dysfunction.
And what does Jesus do with others who resist coming to Him as potential children of God?
Mt 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
Many it seems cannot be made into one accord with you, so you leave them alone.
Shalom
Chief
Chief of Sinners.
Lived experience contributes a great deal to one's behaviour and how they perceive things. My friend relocated to a different country with a 2-year-old child who had just started talking. It has been four years since they relocated and the child picked up a new language (including the accent) and mannerisms of the culture in which they are embedded.