Israel's Foolish Leader

If a leader today was to try and pull a stunt like Joshua did in the Bible, the world would surely condemn him as very arrogant and foolish! I mean how can you divide up nations you haven’t even conquered yet? But that is exactly what Joshua did.

Joshua’s actions, as recorded in the Bible, would have earned him the title “arrogant fool” if he was a leader in today’s world. In the middle of the book of Joshua, he describes the dividing up of the land of Canaan that will become the country of Israel. Why would this make him a fool you say? Often conquering people will reorganize the boundaries of a land; change the names of cities and so forth. But you need to understand is that in this point in time most of the land being divvied up had not even been conquered yet! (Joshua 13:1-6a) If a leader was to try and pull a stunt like that today, he would be looked down on as very arrogant and foolish. The world would have condemned it as an absurd move by Joshua. How could you divvy up property you don’t even own yet? It makes no sense!

However, it was really a very smart move on Joshua’s part, because Joshua believed and trusted God to do what He had promised. In his entire life, he had already seen a myriad of miracles, and what the power of God could accomplish, many of them in just that past few months time (ex. Joshua 10: 12-13). Now, in Joshua 13:1, 6b, 7 (KJV) we see these words: “Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the LORD said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed… them I will drive out from before the children of Israel; only, divide it by lot to Israel as an inheritance, as I have commanded you. Now therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh.” Now Joshua’s action before the land was conquered makes more sense. He was obeying God (see Joshua chapters 14-21).

Joshua’s faith was not in the strength of the people of Israel, but in the strength of the LORD, God of Israel. Joshua believed what God promised He would accomplish. And, if you read further in the books of the Old Testament, you find, that God did keep His promise, the land was conquered in proportion to the obedience of the people of Israel (Joshua 21:43-45). In accordance to God’s promise He gave the complete land of Canaan to the Israelites. To the world today, Joshua’s actions may seem cocky, but in reality it was his well positioned faith in the LORD, God of Israel, and his obedience to God that made this bold move possible. The LORD, God of Israel is in control!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!!

Happy birthday Katie! You are 7 years old as of yesterday! Wow, I bet you are getting big. I hope you had a wonderful day on your birthday, and are safe, happy and well fed. Mark and I are praying for you and you mom every day! We love you sweetie! -Dawn

Visiting Old Friends

This afternoon my husband and I went to visit an old friend and see her new baby. Well, not new anymore, she is 7 months old now. She was such a cute baby, I am happy for her that her first daughter is so healthy. It was also an o.k. time of visiting. You see, my friend is Katie's aunt, the little girl my husband and I took care of for five months last year. you can see the previous post here entitled "Remembering Last Winter".
We talked some about Katie and how she might be doing in Alabama, which is always a sad topic. You see, we have no contact with her now and do not know for sure if her mother will take care of her properly or not. My friend told me that she will not talk to her sister anymore, because of how she treated us, coming to get Katie with no notice. This really troubles me and breaks my heart. I feel like I have helped break up a family by helping a little girl. How can this be?
My friend is still mad at her sister for what she did to us. I wish it was not this way. I decided awhile ago to forgive Katie's mom. God is helping my feelings follow. I wish I could explain to my friend how my husband and I have forgiven Katie's mom, and ask her and her family not to hold a grudge for us.
I guess I could say it here. If any of Katie's family reads this. Mark and I have forgiven Katie's mom. Please, do not continue to ostracize of her on our behalf. We don't want to break up your family. Also, it does not help Katie's safety to cut off all contact. Please do not hold a grudge because of us. I do not know what else to say here.

Boycott the Olympics in 2008?

I have heard recently in the news that presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are advocating a United States boycott of the 2008 Olympic games if they Chinese government does not take steps to secure human rights to the Tibetan people and to stop the genocide in Darfur. I am happy to see the candidates taking up the cause for human rights in China.

However, why were these same candidates silent on the Tibetan issue before? Why did they wait until the Tibetan people protested even to mention it? Why, back when the Olympics location was being chosen did the human rights of China not become and issue then? It seems to me this is one of the thing that is wrong with our politicians today. They only deal with the important issues, when the citizenship becomes aware of them. It seems to me, if we the people, are unaware of a human rights problem in a country, then they can get away with not dealing with the issue. I do not understand this. Is it that the Tibetan people were treated just great up to a few months ago? We know this is not true, violations of human right have been going on for a LONG TIME in China, now all of the sudden, the candidates and the politicians are talking about it. I doubt they would even be talking about it now, accept that the Olympics is only a few months away.

The Tibetans are not the only one suffering under Chinese rule by the way. There is no religious freedom in China. Have you heard about that? China used a system of "re-education through labor" that detains hundreds of thousands of its own citizens each year in work camps without even any of them getting their day in court. Christian persecution is also high in this country. Registered "Christian" churches are required to preach and teach the the things of the Bible that the government deems acceptable. As a result there is an underground house church movement so that Christians there can learn the whole counsel of God's word. According to Voice of the Martyrs, "More Christians are in prison or under detention in China than any other country...China's Christians, endure unimaginable persecution..." To learn about just some of the Christians suffering for their faith in China, you can visit the Prisoner Alert page. Browse through this site and you will see the stories of some of the many Christians persecuted for there faith, in many countries, including China.

Let us remember in this year of the summer Olympics, not only to keep our eye on human rights for the Tibetans, but also for other Christians around the world.

Lord God, I pray you remind us to pray for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ being persecuted around the world, to remember them in our prayers, and to encourage them when we are able. Amen.