Cal Poly's Rose Parade Float

The 60th year both schools have been doing it.

The Navy girls at Christmas

My Christmas present

The NAVY Dog Cream Puff!

The real man of the year

Petraeus pulled it off. The war is not over, of course. Too quick and deep a drawdown -- which some in the Pentagon and elsewhere in the Bush administration are, appallingly, pushing for -- could throw away the amazing success that has been achieved. Still: It is as clear as anything can be in this world, where we judge through a glass darkly, that General David H. Petraeus is, in fact, America's man of the year.

From Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol here.

The general could not pull it off without our Troops going in to win the Iraqis hearts. Our soldiers are winning the war. Our Congressional leaders should be assumed. They need to apologize to the troops and congratulate their winning effort.

The counterinsurgency campaign of 2007 was probably the most precise, discriminate, and humane military operation ever undertaken on such a scale. Our soldiers and Marines worked hard--and took risks and even casualties--to ensure, as much as possible, that they hurt only enemies. Compared with any previous military operations of this size, they were astonishingly successful. The measure of their success lies in the fact that so many Iraqis now see American troops as friends and protectors. Petraeus and his generals have shown that Americans can fight insurgencies and win--and still be Americans. For that and so much else, he is the man of the year.

Wish the Troops a Merry Christmas

Go over to America Supports You and send the troops a Christmas message here.

Birth of the Messiah

From Luke 2:1-20 here:

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus 2 that the whole world should be enrolled.
2
This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
3
So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town.
4
And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,
5
to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.
6
While they were there, the time came for her to have her child,
7
and she gave birth to her firstborn son. 3 She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8
4 Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.
9
The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.
10
The angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11
5 For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.
12
And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."
13
And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
14
6 "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests."
15
When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us."
16
So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.
17
When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.
18
All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.
19
And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.
20
Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.

Worship

From Matthew 2:1-12 here:

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, 2 behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
2
saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star 3 at its rising and have come to do him homage."
3
When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 4
5
They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:
6
'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"
7
Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance.
8
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage."
9
After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
10
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
11
5 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

Trust

From Matthew 1:19-25 here:

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, 8 yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.
20
Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord 9 appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.
21
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, 10 because he will save his people from their sins."
22
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23
11 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us."
24
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
25
He had no relations with her until she bore a son, 12 and he named him Jesus.

Joy

From Luke 1:39-56 here:

During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah,
40
where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
41
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit,
42
cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
43
And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord 14 should come to me?
44
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
45
Blessed are you who believed 15 that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
46
And Mary said: 16 "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
47
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
48
For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
49
The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50
His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
51
He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
52
He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.
53
The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.
54
He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,
55
according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."
56
Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

The Hope for a Future

From Luke 1:26-38 here:

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,
27
to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.
28
And coming to her, he said, "Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you."
29
But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.
30
Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31
Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.
32
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, 11 and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
33
and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
34
But Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" 12
35
And the angel said to her in reply, "The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.
36
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived 13 a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
37
for nothing will be impossible for God."
38
Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Repentance

From Luke 1:57-80 here:

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son.
58
Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.
59
18 When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
60
but his mother said in reply, "No. He will be called John."
61
But they answered her, "There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
62
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
63
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed.
64
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God.
65
Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea.
66
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
67
Then Zechariah his father, filled with the holy Spirit, prophesied, saying:
68
19 "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.
69
20 He has raised up a horn for our salvation within the house of David his servant,
70
even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:
71
salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72
to show mercy to our fathers and to be mindful of his holy covenant
73
and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father, and to grant us that,
74
rescued from the hand of enemies, without fear we might worship him
75
in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76
And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord 21 to prepare his ways,
77
to give his people knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
78
because of the tender mercy of our God by which the daybreak from on high 22 will visit us
79
to shine on those who sit in darkness and death's shadow, to guide our feet into the path of peace."
80
The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.

Return and Rebuilding

From Nehemiah 1 here:

The words of Nehemiah, the son of Hacaliah. 1 In the month Chislev of the twentieth year, I was in the citadel of Susa
2
when Hanani, one of my brothers, came with other men from Judah. I asked them about the Jews, the remnant preserved after the captivity, and about Jerusalem,
3
and they answered me: "The survivors of the captivity there in the province are in great distress and under reproach. Also, the wall of Jerusalem lies breached, and its gates have been gutted with fire."
4
When I heard this report, I began to weep and continued mourning for several days; I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.
5
I prayed: "O LORD, God of heaven, great and awesome God, you who preserve your covenant of mercy toward those who love you and keep your commandments,
6
may your ear be attentive, and your eyes open, to heed the prayer which I, your servant, now offer in your presence day and night for your servants the Israelites, confessing the sins which we of Israel have committed against you, I and my father's house included.
7
Grievously have we offended you, not keeping the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances which you committed to your servant Moses.
8
But remember, I pray, the promise which you gave through Moses, your servant, when you said: 'Should you prove faithless, I will scatter you among the nations;
9
but should you return to me and carefully keep my commandments, even though your outcasts have been driven to the farthest corner of the world, I will gather them from there, and bring them back to the place which I have chosen as the dwelling place for my name.'
10
They are your servants, your people, whom you freed by your great might and your strong hand.
11
2 O Lord, may your ear be attentive to my prayer and that of all your willing servants who revere your name. Grant success to your servant this day, and let him find favor with this man"-for I was cupbearer to the king.

Waiting

From Habakkuk 1 here:

The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet received in vision.
2
1 How long, O LORD? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not intervene.
3
Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord.
4
This is why the law is benumbed, and judgment is never rendered: Because the wicked circumvent the just; this is why judgment comes forth perverted.
5
2 Look over the nations and see, and be utterly amazed! For a work is being done in your days that you would not have believed, were it told.
6
For see, I am raising up Chaldea, that bitter and unruly people, That marches the breadth of the land to take dwellings not his own.
7
Terrible and dreadful is he, from himself derive his law and his majesty.
8
3 Swifter than leopards are his horses, and keener than wolves at evening. His horses prance, his horsemen come from afar: They fly like the eagle hastening to devour;
9
each comes for the rapine, Their combined onset is that of a stormwind that heaps up captives like sand.
10
He scoffs at kings, and princes are his laughingstock; He laughs at any fortress, heaps up a ramp, and conquers it.
11
4 Then he veers like the wind and is gone-- this culprit who makes his own strength his god!
12
5 Are you not from eternity, O LORD, my holy God, immortal? O LORD you have marked him for judgment, O Rock 6 , you have readied him for punishment!
13
Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil, and the sight of misery you cannot endure. Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence while the wicked man devours one more just than himself?
14
You have made man like the fish of the sea, like creeping things without a ruler.
15
7 He brings them all up with his hook, he hauls them away with his net, He gathers them in his seine; and so he rejoices and exults.
16
8 Therefore he sacrifices to his net, and burns incense to his seine; For thanks to them his portion is generous, and his repast sumptuous.
17
Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword to slay peoples without mercy?

The Exile

From Jeremiah here 1:4-10:

The word of the LORD came to me thus:
5
3 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
6
4 "Ah, Lord GOD!" I said, "I know not how to speak; I am too young."
7
But the LORD answered me, Say not, "I am too young." To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8
Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.
9
Then the LORD extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying, See, I place my words in your mouth!
10
This day I set you over nations and over kingdoms, To root up and to tear down, to destroy and to demolish, to build and to plant.

The Call to Holiness

From Isaiah 1:10-20 here:

Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah!
11
7 What care I for the number of your sacrifices? says the LORD. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; In the blood of calves, lambs and goats I find no pleasure.
12
When you come in to visit me, who asks these things of you?
13
8 Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me. New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies, octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear.
14
Your new moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load.
15
9 When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood!
16
Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil;
17
learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow.
18
Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.
19
If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land;
20
But if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume you: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!

Faithfulness and Deliverance

From 2 Kings 18:

In the third year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.
2
He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi, daughter of Zechariah.
3
He pleased the LORD, just as his forefather David had done.
4
It was he who removed the high places, shattered the pillars, and cut down the sacred poles. He smashed the bronze serpent called Nehushtan which Moses had made, because up to that time the Israelites were burning incense to it.
5
He put his trust in the LORD, the God of Israel; and neither before him nor after him was there anyone like him among all the kings of Judah.
6
Loyal to the LORD, Hezekiah never turned away from him, but observed the commandments which the LORD had given Moses.
7
The LORD was with him, and he prospered in all that he set out to do. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
8
He also subjugated the watchtowers and walled cities of the Philistines, all the way to Gaza and its territory.
9
1 In the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea, son of Elah, king of Israel, Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, attacked Samaria, laid siege to it,
10
and after three years captured it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, the ninth year of Hoshea, king of Israel, Samaria was taken.
11
The king of Assyria then deported the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, at the Habor, a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.
12
This came about because they had not heeded the warning of the LORD, their God, but violated his covenant, not heeding and not fulfilling the commandments of Moses, the servant of the LORD.
13
2 3 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, went on an expedition against all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them.
14
Hezekiah, king of Judah, sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: "I have done wrong. Leave me, and I will pay whatever tribute you impose on me." The king of Assyria exacted three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold from Hezekiah, king of Judah.
15
Hezekiah paid him all the funds there were in the temple of the LORD and in the palace treasuries.
16
He broke up the door panels and the uprights of the temple of the LORD which he himself had ordered to be overlaid with gold, and gave the gold to the king of Assyria.
17
4 The king of Assyria sent the general, the lord chamberlain, and the commander from Lachish with a great army to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They went up, and on their arrival in Jerusalem, stopped at the conduit of the upper pool on the highway of the fuller's field.
18
They called for the king, who sent out to them Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, the master of the palace; Shebnah the scribe; and the herald Joah, son of Asaph.
19
The commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you base this confidence of yours?
20
Do you think mere words substitute for strategy and might in war? On whom, then, do you rely, that you rebel against me?
21
This Egypt, the staff on which you rely, is in fact a broken reed which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it. That is what Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is to all who rely on him.
22
But if you say to me, We rely on the LORD, our God, is not he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, commanding Judah and Jerusalem to worship before this altar in Jerusalem?'
23
"Now, make a wager with my lord, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses if you can put riders on them.
24
How then can you repulse even one of the least servants of my lord, relying as you do on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?
25
Was it without the LORD'S will that I have come up to destroy this place? The LORD said to me, 'Go up and destroy that land!'"
26
Then Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, and Shebnah and Joah said to the commander: "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic; we understand it. Do not speak to us in Judean within earshot of the people who are on the wall."
27
But the commander replied: "Was it to your master and to you that my lord sent me to speak these words? Was it not rather to the men sitting on the wall, who, with you, will have to eat their own excrement and drink their urine?"
28
Then the commander stepped forward and cried out in a loud voice in Judean, "Listen to the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
29
Thus says the king: 'Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, since he cannot deliver you out of my hand.
30
Let not Hezekiah induce you to rely on the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely save us; this city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.
31
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and surrender! Then each of you will eat of his own vine and of his own fig-tree, and drink the water of his own cistern,
32
until I come to take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and wine, of bread and orchards, of olives, oil and fruit syrup. Choose life, not death. Do not listen to Hezekiah when he would seduce you by saying, The LORD will rescue us.
33
Has any of the gods of the nations ever rescued his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
34
Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Avva? Where are the gods of the land of Samaria?
35
Which of the gods for all these lands ever rescued his land from my hand? Will the LORD then rescue Jerusalem from my hand?'"
36
But the people remained silent and did not answer him one word, for the king had ordered them not to answer him.
37
Then the master of the palace, Eliakim, son of Hilkiah, Shebnah the scribe, and the herald Joah, son of Asaph, came to Hezekiah with their garments torn, and reported to him what the commander had

He should have been man of the year (or person)

HT from Black Five here.

The Threat of False Gods

From 1 Kings 17:1-16 here:

Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word."
2
The LORD then said to Elijah:
3
"Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan.
4
You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there."
5
So he left and did as the LORD had commanded. He went and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan.
6
Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the stream.
7
After some time, however, the brook ran dry, because no rain had fallen in the land.
8
So the LORD said to him:
9
"Move on to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have designated a widow there to provide for you."
10
He left and went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, "Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink."
11
She left to get it, and he called out after her, "Please bring along a bit of bread."
12
"As the LORD, your God, lives," she answered, "I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die."
13
"Do not be afraid," Elijah said to her. "Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son.
14
For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'"
15
She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well;
16
The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.

A Shepherd for the People

From 2 Samuel 5:1-5 here:

All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron and said: "Here we are, your bone and your flesh.
2
In days past, when Saul was our king, it was you who led the Israelites out and brought them back. And the LORD said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel and shall be commander of Israel.'"
3
When all the elders of Israel came to David in Hebron, King David made an agreement with them there before the LORD, and they anointed him king of Israel.
4
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty years:
5
seven years and six months in Hebron over Judah, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem over all Israel and Judah.

The Beginning of the Kingdom

From I Samuel 3:1-21 here:

During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli, a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent.
2
One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see.
3
The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was.
4
The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
5
He ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me." "I did not call you," Eli said. "Go back to sleep." So he went back to sleep.
6
Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "You called me." But he answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."
7
At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
8
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me." Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
9
So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
10
the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
11
The LORD said to Samuel: "I am about to do something in Israel that will cause the ears of everyone who hears it to ring.
12
On that day I will carry out in full against Eli everything I threatened against his family.
13
I announce to him that I am condemning his family once and for all, because of this crime: though he knew his sons were blaspheming God, he did not reprove them.
14
Therefore, I swear to the family of Eli that no sacrifice or offering will ever expiate its crime."
15
Samuel then slept until morning, when he got up early and opened the doors of the temple of the LORD. He feared to tell Eli the vision,
16
but Eli called to him, "Samuel, my son!" He replied, "Here I am."
17
2 Then Eli asked, "What did he say to you? Hide nothing from me! May God do thus and so to you if you hide a single thing he told you."
18
So Samuel told him everything, and held nothing back. Eli answered, "He is the LORD. He will do what he judges best."
19
Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
20
Thus all Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba came to know that Samuel was an accredited prophet of the LORD.
21
The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh; he manifested himself to Samuel at Shiloh through his word,

Unlikely Heroes

From Judges 8 here:

Early the next morning Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) encamped by Enharod with all his soldiers. The camp of Midian was in the valley north of Gibeath-hammoreh.
2
The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many soldiers with you for me to deliver Midian into their power, lest Israel vaunt itself against me and say, 'My own power brought me the victory.'
3
Now proclaim to all the soldiers, 'If anyone is afraid or fearful, let him leave.'" When Gideon put them to this test on the mountain, twenty-two thousand of the soldiers left, but ten thousand remained.
4
The LORD said to Gideon, "There are still too many soldiers. Lead them down to the water and I will test them for you there. If I tell you that a certain man is to go with you, he must go with you. But no one is to go if I tell you he must not."
5
1 When Gideon led the soldiers down to the water, the LORD said to him, "You shall set to one side everyone who laps up the water as a dog does with its tongue; to the other, everyone who kneels down to drink."
6
Those who lapped up the water raised to their mouths by hand numbered three hundred, but all the rest of the soldiers knelt down to drink the water.
7
The LORD said to Gideon, "By means of the three hundred who lapped up the water I will save you and will deliver Midian into your power. So let all the other soldiers go home."
8
Their horns, and such supplies as the soldiers had with them, were taken up, and Gideon ordered the rest of the Israelites to their tents, but kept the three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.
9
That night the LORD said to Gideon, "Go, descend on the camp, for I have delivered it up to you.
10
If you are afraid to attack, go down to the camp with your aide Purah.
11
When you hear what they are saying, you will have the courage to descend on the camp." So he went down with his aide Purah to the outposts of the camp.
12
The Midianites, Amalekites, and all the Kedemites lay in the valley, as numerous as locusts. Nor could their camels be counted, for these were as many as the sands on the seashore.
13
2 When Gideon arrived, one man was telling another about a dream. "I had a dream," he said, "that a round loaf of barley bread was rolling into the camp of Midian. It came to our tent and struck it, and as it fell it turned the tent upside down."
14
"This can only be the sword of the Israelite Gideon, son of Joash," the other replied. "God has delivered Midian and all the camp into his power."
15
When Gideon heard the description and explanation of the dream, he prostrated himself. Then returning to the camp of Israel, he said, "Arise, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your power."

These guys were caught just blocks away from my house

The gas station robbers from an Inglewood Mosque pleaded GUILTY! They were caught July 5, 2005 at our DMV off Euclid and Valentia Drive in Fullerton, CA. Story here.

Authorities say James, Washington and two others were part of a California prison gang cell of radical Muslims planning attacks in the Los Angeles area.

"Homegrown terrorism remains a grave concern to the security of our country, and this cell was closer to going operational at the time than anyone since 9/11," Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Michael Downing told reporters at a news conference after the two men entered their pleas.
Prosecutors say James even had a press release prepared to send out after an attack.

"This incident is the first in a series of incidents to come in a plight to defend and propagate traditional Islam in its purity," James is accused of writing. "We are not extremists, radicals or terrorists. We are only servants of Allah."

The plotters were within weeks of being able to carry out an attack when they were uncovered in July 2005 by police investigating a string of gas station robberies, Torrance Police Chief John Neu said. Authorities said the men committed about 10 holdups to finance the attacks.

HT LGF here.

She should have said,"We like to Win!"

No one likes war, not even the Veteran's who return from war. But we sometimes have to fight a war to protect our country from being attacked. (Like 9/11, Pearl Harbor, etc.) The White House wins and Nancy P cries foul.

"They like this war. They want this war to continue," Pelosi, D- Calif., told reporters. She expressed frustration over Republicans' ability to force majority Democrats to yield ground on taxes, spending, energy, war spending and other matters.

"We thought that they shared the view of so many people in our country that we needed a new direction in Iraq," Pelosi said at her weekly news conference in the Capitol. "But the Republicans have made it very clear that this is not just George Bush's war. This is the war of the Republicans in Congress."

Asked to clarify her remarks, Pelosi backed off a bit.

"I shouldn't say they like the war," she said. "They support the war, the course of action that the president is on."

"And that was a revelation to me," she said, "because I thought the American people's voices were so—and still are—so strong in this regard."

Yes, I support the war and the President. I support the troops who are in harms way and the fact they are winning it! Great job they are doing. And it makes me so sick to hear our Leader in congress knocking the troops down all the time. The American people want to win the war and then bring the troops home. And they will come home this time, Victorius! I'm glad that they will get the funds they need to win it. God Bless the troops!

Entering Israel

From Joshua 1:1-11

After Moses, the servant of the LORD, had died, the LORD said to Moses' aide Joshua, son of Nun:
2
"My servant Moses is dead. So prepare to cross the Jordan here, with all the people into the land I will give the Israelites.
3
As I promised Moses, I will deliver to you every place where you set foot.
4
1 Your domain is to be all the land of the Hittites, from the desert and from Lebanon east to the great river Euphrates and west to the Great Sea.
5
No one can withstand you while you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses: I will not leave you nor forsake you.
6
Be firm and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers I would give them.
7
Above all, be firm and steadfast, taking care to observe the entire law which my servant Moses enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go.
8
Keep this book of the law on your lips. Recite it by day and by night, that you may observe carefully all that is written in it; then you will successfully attain your goal.
9
I command you: be firm and steadfast! Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD, your God, is with you wherever you go."
10
So Joshua commanded the officers of the people:
11
"Go through the camp and instruct the people, 'Prepare your provisions, for three days from now you shall cross the Jordan here, to march in and take possession of the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.'"

The Tablets of the Torah

From Exodus 19 & 20

1
In the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt, on its first day, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai.
2
After the journey from Rephidim to the desert of Sinai, they pitched camp. While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain,
3
Moses went up the mountain to God. Then the LORD called to him and said, "Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob;
4
tell the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians and how I bore you up on eagle wings and brought you here to myself.
5
Therefore, if you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine.
6
1 You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. That is what you must tell the Israelites."
7
So Moses went and summoned the elders of the people. When he set before them all that the LORD had ordered him to tell them,
8
the people all answered together, "Everything the LORD has said, we will do." Then Moses brought back to the LORD the response of the people.
9
The LORD also told him, "I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also." When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people,
10
the LORD added, "Go to the people and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow. Make them wash their garments
11
and be ready for the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.
12
Set limits for the people all around the mountain, and tell them: Take care not to go up the mountain, or even to touch its base. If anyone touches the mountain, he must be put to death.
13
No hand shall touch him; he must be stoned to death or killed with arrows. Such a one, man or beast, must not be allowed to live. Only when the ram's horn resounds may they go up to the mountain."
14
Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and had them sanctify themselves and wash their garments.
15
He warned them, "Be ready for the third day. Have no intercourse with any woman."
16
On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
17
But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain.
18
Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the LORD came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.
19
The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking and God answering him with thunder.
20
When the LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai, he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up to him.
21
Then the LORD told Moses, "Go down and warn the people not to break through toward the LORD in order to see him; otherwise many of them will be struck down.
22
The priests, too, who approach the LORD must sanctify themselves; else he will vent his anger upon them."
23
Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot go up to Mount Sinai, for you yourself warned us to set limits around the mountain to make it sacred."
24
The LORD repeated, "Go down now! Then come up again along with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the LORD; else he will vent his anger upon them."
25
So Moses went down to the people and told them this.

1 Then God delivered all these commandments:
2
"I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
3
You shall not have other gods besides me.
4
You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
5
2 you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation;
6
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7
"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.
8
"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
9
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
10
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you.
11
In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
12
"Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
13
"You shall not kill.
14
"You shall not commit adultery.
15
"You shall not steal.
16
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him."
18
When the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the trumpet blast and the mountain smoking, they all feared and trembled. So they took up a position much farther away
19
and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we shall die."
20
Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid, for God has come to you only to test you and put his fear upon you, lest you should sin."

PASSOVER

From Exodus 12

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
2
1 "This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year.
3
Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household.
4
2 If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.
5
The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats.
6
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight.
7
They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb.
8
That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
9
It shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole, with its head and shanks and inner organs.
10
None of it must be kept beyond the next morning; whatever is left over in the morning shall be burned up.
11
3 "This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the LORD.
12
For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first--born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt-I, the LORD!
13
But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you.
14
"This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.
15

God's Leadership

From Exodus 3

Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2
2 There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed.
3
So Moses decided, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned."
4
When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am."
5
God said, "Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.
6
3 I am the God of your father," he continued, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7
But the LORD said, "I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering.
8
4 Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
9
So indeed the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them.
10
Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."
11
5 But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?"
12
He answered, "I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain."
13
"But," said Moses to God, "when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?"
14
6 God replied, "I am who am." Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you."
15
God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. "This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations.
16
7 "Go and assemble the elders of the Israelites, and tell them: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I am concerned about you and about the way you are being treated in Egypt;
17
so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.
18
"Thus they will heed your message. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three days' journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.
19
"Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced.
20
I will stretch out my hand, therefore, and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there. After that he will send you away.
21
I will even make the Egyptians so well-disposed toward this people that, when you leave, you will not go empty-handed.
22
8 Every woman shall ask her neighbor and her house guest for silver and gold articles and for clothing to put on your sons and daughters. Thus you will despoil the Egyptians."

God's Providence

From Genesis 37

1
Jacob settled in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
2
This is his family history. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flocks with his brothers; he was an assistant to the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought his father bad reports about them.
3
Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long tunic.
4
When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.
5
Once Joseph had a dream, which he told to his brothers:
6
"Listen to this dream I had.
7
There we were, binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf rose to an upright position, and your sheaves formed a ring around my sheaf and bowed down to it."
8
"Are you really going to make yourself king over us?" his brothers asked him. "Or impose your rule on us?" So they hated him all the more because of his talk about his dreams.
9
Then he had another dream, and this one, too, he told to his brothers. "I had another dream," he said; "this time, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."
10
When he also told it to his father, his father reproved him. "What is the meaning of this dream of yours?" he asked. "Can it be that I and your mother and your brothers are to come and bow to the ground before you?"
11
So his brothers were wrought up against him but his father pondered the matter.
12
One day, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem,
13
Israel said to Joseph, "Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem. Get ready; I will send you to them." "I am ready," Joseph answered.
14
"Go then," he replied; "see if all is well with your brothers and the flocks, and bring back word." So he sent him off from the valley of Hebron. When Joseph reached Shechem,
15
a man met him as he was wandering about in the fields. "What are you looking for?" the man asked him.
16
"I am looking for my brothers," he answered. "Could you please tell me where they are tending the flocks?"
17
The man told him, "They have moved on from here; in fact, I heard them say, 'Let us go on to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.
18
They noticed him from a distance, and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.
19
They said to one another: "Here comes that master dreamer!
20
Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here; we could say that a wild beast devoured him. We shall then see what comes of his dreams."
21
1 When Reuben heard this, he tried to save him from their hands, saying: "We must not take his life.
22
Instead of shedding blood," he continued, "just throw him into that cistern there in the desert; but don't kill him outright." His purpose was to rescue him from their hands and restore him to his father.
23
So when Joseph came up to them, they stripped him of the long tunic he had on;
24
then they took him and threw him into the cistern, which was empty and dry.
25
They then sat down to their meal. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with gum, balm and resin to be taken down to Egypt.
26
Judah said to his brothers: "What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?
27
Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh." His brothers agreed.
28
2 They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Some Midianite traders passed by, and they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and took him to Egypt.
29
When Reuben went back to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not in it, he tore his clothes,
30
and returning to his brothers, he exclaimed: "The boy is gone! And I--where can I turn?"
31
They took Joseph's tunic, and after slaughtering a goat, dipped the tunic in its blood.
32
Then they sent someone to bring the long tunic to their father, with the message: "We found this. See whether it is your son's tunic or not."
33
He recognized it and exclaimed: "My son's tunic! A wild beast has devoured him! Joseph has been torn to pieces!"
34
Then Jacob rent his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned his son many days.
35
Though his sons and daughters tried to console him, he refused all consolation, saying, "No, I will go down mourning to my son in the nether world." Thus did his father lament him.
36
The Midianites, meanwhile, sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh and his chief steward.

Assurance of the Promise

From Genesis 27:41 to 28:22 here:

41
Esau bore Jacob a grudge because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, "When the time of mourning for my father comes, I will kill my brother Jacob."
42
When Rebekah got news of what her older son Esau had in mind, she called her younger son Jacob and said to him: "Listen! Your brother Esau intends to settle accounts with you by killing you.
43
Therefore, son, do what I tell you: flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran,
44
and stay with him a while until your brother's fury subsides
45
(until your brother's anger against you subsides) and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back. Must I lose both of you in a single day?"
46
4 Rebekah said to Isaac: "I am disgusted with life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob also should marry a Hittite woman, a native of the land, like these women, what good would life be to me?"

1
Isaac therefore called Jacob, greeted him with a blessing, and charged him: "You shall not marry a Canaanite woman!
2
Go now to Paddan-aram, to the home of your mother's father Bethuel, and there choose a wife for yourself from among the daughters of your uncle Laban.
3
May God Almighty bless you and make you fertile, multiply you that you may become an assembly of peoples.
4
May he extend to you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham, so that you may gain possession of the land where you are staying, which he assigned to Abraham."
5
Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way; he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6
Esau noted that Isaac had blessed Jacob when he sent him to Paddan-aram to get himself a wife there, charging him, as he gave him his blessing, not to marry a Canaanite woman,
7
and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan-aram.
8
Esau realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac,
9
so he went to Ishmael, and in addition to the wives he had, married Mahalath, the daughter of Abraham's son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
10
Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.
11
1 When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set, he stopped there for the night. Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep at that spot.
12
2 Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground, with its top reaching to the heavens; and God's messengers were going up and down on it.
13
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying: "I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you are lying I will give to you and your descendants.
14
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth, and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south. In you and your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
15
Know that I am with you; I will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you."
16
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed, "Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!"
17
3 In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine! This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!"
18
4 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head, set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it.
19
5 He called that site Bethel, whereas the former name of the town had been Luz.
20
Jacob then made this vow: "If God remains with me, to protect me on this journey I am making and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear,
21
and I come back safe to my father's house, the LORD shall be my God.
22
This stone that I have set up as a memorial stone shall be God's abode. Of everything you give me, I will faithfully return a tenth part to you."

Offering of Isaac

From Genesis 22:1-19 here:

1
1 Some time after these events, God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, "Abraham!" "Ready!" he replied.
2
2 Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you."
3
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well, and with the wood that he had cut for the holocaust, set out for the place of which God had told him.
4
On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
5
Then he said to his servants: "Both of you stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over yonder. We will worship and then come back to you."
6
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the holocaust and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
7
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham. "Father!" he said. "Yes, son," he replied. Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the holocaust?"
8
"Son," Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the sheep for the holocaust." Then the two continued going forward.
9
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he tied up his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
10
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11
But the LORD'S messenger called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!" "Yes, Lord," he answered.
12
"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger. "Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."
13
As Abraham looked about, he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. So he went and took the ram and offered it up as a holocaust in place of his son.
14
3 Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh; hence people now say, "On the mountain the LORD will see."
15
Again the LORD'S messenger called to Abraham from heaven
16
and said: "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son,
17
I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies,
18
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing--all this because you obeyed my command.''
19
Abraham then returned to his servants, and they set out together for Beer-sheba, where Abraham made his home.

The Promise

From Genesis 12 1:7 here:

1
The LORD said to Abram: "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.
2
"I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3
1 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you."
4
Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
5
2 Abram took his wife Sarai, his brother's son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan,
6
Abram passed through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, by the terebinth of Moreh. (The Canaanites were then in the land.)
7
The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So Abram built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.

The Flood

From Genesis 6:11-22 here:

In the eyes of God the earth was corrupt and full of lawlessness.
12
When God saw how corrupt the earth had become, since all mortals led depraved lives on earth,
13
he said to Noah: "I have decided to put an end to all mortals on earth; the earth is full of lawlessness because of them. So I will destroy them and all life on earth.
14
6 Make yourself an ark of gopherwood, put various compartments in it, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
15
7 This is how you shall build it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.
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8 Make an opening for daylight in the ark, and finish the ark a cubit above it. Put an entrance in the side of the ark, which you shall make with bottom, second and third decks.
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I, on my part, am about to bring the flood (waters) on the earth, to destroy everywhere all creatures in which there is the breath of life; everything on earth shall perish.
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But with you I will establish my covenant; you and your sons, your wife and your sons' wives, shall go into the ark.
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Of all other living creatures you shall bring two into the ark, one male and one female, that you may keep them alive with you.
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Of all kinds of birds, of all kinds of beasts, and of all kinds of creeping things, two of each shall come into the ark with you, to stay alive.
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Moreover, you are to provide yourself with all the food that is to be eaten, and store it away, that it may serve as provisions for you and for them."
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This Noah did; he carried out all the commands that God gave him.

The First Sin

From Genesis 2:4-3:24 here:

Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation. At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens--
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while as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil,
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but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground--
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2 the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.
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3 Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
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Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.
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4 A river rises in Eden to water the garden; beyond there it divides and becomes four branches.
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The name of the first is the Pishon; it is the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
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The gold of that land is excellent; bdellium and lapis lazuli are also there.
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The name of the second river is the Gihon; it is the one that winds all through the land of Cush.
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The name of the third river is the Tigris; it is the one that flows east of Asshur. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
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The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.
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The LORD God gave man this order: "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
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except the tree of knowledge of good and bad. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die."
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The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him."
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So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name.
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The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man.
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So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
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The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man,
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5 the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken."
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6 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.
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The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame.

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals that the LORD God had made. The serpent asked the woman, "Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?"
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The woman answered the serpent: "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
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it is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, 'You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.'"
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But the serpent said to the woman: "You certainly will not die!
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1 No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad."
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The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
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Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
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2 When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
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The LORD God then called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?"
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He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself."
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Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!"
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The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me--she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it."
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The LORD God then asked the woman, "Why did you do such a thing?" The woman answered, "The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it."
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Then the LORD God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life.
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3 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel."
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To the woman he said: "I will intensify the pangs of your childbearing; in pain shall you bring forth children. Yet your urge shall be for your husband, and he shall be your master."
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To the man he said: "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat, "Cursed be the ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its yield all the days of your life.
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Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, as you eat of the plants of the field.
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By the sweat of your face shall you get bread to eat, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return."
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4 The man called his wife Eve, because she became the mother of all the living.
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For the man and his wife the LORD God made leather garments, with which he clothed them.
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Then the LORD God said: "See! The man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is bad! Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the tree of life also, and thus eat of it and live forever."
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The LORD God therefore banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he had been taken.
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5 When he expelled the man, he settled him east of the garden of Eden; and he stationed the cherubim and the fiery revolving sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Creation

Here is the second installment of my Jesse Tree.
The Creation of the world by God.
From Gensis 1:1-2:3 here:

In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
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2 the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
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Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
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God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness.
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3 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Thus evening came, and morning followed--the first day.
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Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened:
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God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
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God called the dome "the sky." Evening came, and morning followed--the second day.
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Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear." And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared.
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God called the dry land "the earth," and the basin of the water he called "the sea." God saw how good it was.
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Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it." And so it happened:
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the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was.
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Evening came, and morning followed--the third day.
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Then God said: "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
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and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth." And so it happened:
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God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars.
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God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth,
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to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was.
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Evening came, and morning followed--the fourth day.
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Then God said, "Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky." And so it happened:
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God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was,
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and God blessed them, saying, "Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth."
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Evening came, and morning followed--the fifth day.
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Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth all kinds of living creatures: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals of all kinds." And so it happened:
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God made all kinds of wild animals, all kinds of cattle, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. God saw how good it was.
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4 Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."
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God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.
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God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth."
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God also said: "See, I give you every seed-bearing plant all over the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food;
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and to all the animals of the land, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the ground, I give all the green plants for food." And so it happened.
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God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed--the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth and all their array were completed.
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Since on the seventh day God was finished with the work he had been doing, he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken.
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So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation.

Ist Sunday in Advent

I would like to celebrate the Advent season by daily scripture from the bible. I thought the Jesse Tree would be great to do for the whole Advent season. The Jesse tree tells the story of being faithful to god. Jesse is the father to King David. Also, Jesus is related to David coming from his house. I will start out with the first verse from Isaiah 11:1-10.

But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
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2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
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and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD. Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide,
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But he shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the land's afflicted. He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
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Justice shall be the band around his waist, and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
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3 Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them.
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The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
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The baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.
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There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea.
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On that day, The root of Jesse, set up as a signal for the nations, The Gentiles shall seek out, for his dwelling shall be glorious.