Boing Boing: Blogger: Merc spies infiltrating UN ops in in Haiti

Boing Boing: Blogger: Merc spies infiltrating UN ops in in Haiti

Kathryn Cramer: Consultants Advisory Group™ (CAG) Spying in Haiti; Whistleblowers Detained for Reporting Human Rights Violations

Tags: Haiti

dreaming of more...

Doctor of Business Administration - I want this... but is it right? Currently I'm an inactive MBA major at Ship Univerisity. I need to move on this stuff more.

Tags: MBA, doctoral, business education

The voice through the door

John 10:1"Let me set this before you as plainly as I can. If a person climbs over or through the fence of a sheep pen instead of going through the gate, you know he's up to no good--a sheep rustler! 2The shepherd walks right up to the gate. 3The gatekeeper opens the gate to him and the sheep recognize his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. 5They won't follow a stranger's voice but will scatter because they aren't used to the sound of it."

6Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. 7So he tried again. "I'll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. 8All those others are up to no good--sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn't listen to them. 9I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for--will freely go in and out, and find pasture. 10A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

11"I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. 12A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. 13He's only in it for the money. The sheep don't matter to him.

14"I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. 15In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. 16You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They'll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. 17This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father."

I need to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd clearly. Though at times I may not be able to lift my gaze beyond the ankles, I must listen for what is said. Be discerning in caretaking shepherds, and cautious of hired hands. Know the way in which they came, via gate or other. His voice alone will assure me. Is isn't in the wind, storms, or sea. His still small voice calms all that and my own fears. He is my source and strength.

Tags: Jesus, Bible, sheep, shepherd

Walk!

Hab 3:19 - The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds' feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]! For the Chief Musician; with my stringed instruments.

I have stood in terror, I have evaded responsibility, I have been troubled with busyness. It is time to make progress.

Tags: Bible, Jesus, walk

Strike in Haiti brings commerce to a halt

Will Haitians learn that the violence only amplifies the notion that reform is merely idealic? Change must happen. Strikes bring frustration. Violence breeds division. The only way to unite for true change is a national revival and allowing God to have His way. All other gods will bow before Christ. Witchcraft must end, arguing must cease, hearts must melt.

Tags: Haiti, Jesus

In the desert

Ezek 37:1-2
37:1 THE HAND of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones.

2 And He caused me to pass round about among them, and behold, there were very many [human bones] in the open valley or plain, and behold, they were very dry.
AMP

We are surrounded by many people in society looking for something new and fresh. People are sitting in church very dry even.

Ezek 37:3-7
3 And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, You know! [1 Cor 15:35.]

4 Again He said to me, Prophesy to these bones and say to them, O you dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. [John 5:28.]

5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath and spirit to enter you, and you shall live;

6 And I will lay sinews upon you and bring up flesh upon you and cover you with skin, and I will put breath and spirit in you, and you [dry bones] shall live; and you shall know, understand, and realize that I am the Lord [the Sovereign Ruler, Who calls forth loyalty and obedient service].

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a [thundering] noise and behold, a shaking and trembling and a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone.
AMP

When you speak, do you see what God sees in that person? If you can ask the Lord, show me something about this person that I could speak about them – you have to be able to say something that only God knows.

God puts things in our heart – like business college in the nations. My dilemma is what preparation and training do I truly need to go? I have an idea on my own, but the process seems arduous and long. If my training isn’t as I interpreted it, the goal of imparting a certain amount of training to others may not come to pass.

Ezek 37:8-10
8 And I looked and behold, there were sinews upon [the bones] and flesh came upon them and skin covered them over, but there was no breath or spirit in them.

9 Then said He to me, Prophesy to the breath and spirit, son of man, and say to the breath and spirit, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath and spirit, and breathe upon these slain that they may live.

10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath and spirit came into [the bones], and they lived and stood up upon their feet, an exceedingly great host. [Rev 11:11.]
AMP

Others are waiting for me to fulfill God’s purposes. My destiny unlocks theirs’. I need to hear from God regarding these matters. My plans must be subject to His.

John 4:6-19
6 And Jacob's well was there. So Jesus, tired as He was from His journey, sat down [to rest] by the well. It was then about the sixth hour (about noon).
7 Presently, when a woman of Samaria came along to draw water, Jesus said to her, Give Me a drink —
8 For His disciples had gone off into the town to buy food —
9 The Samaritan woman said to Him, How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan [and a] woman, for a drink? — For the Jews have nothing to do with the Samaritans —
10 Jesus answered her, If you had only known and had recognized God's gift and Who this is that is saying to you, Give Me a drink, you would have asked Him [instead] and He would have given you living water.
11 She said to Him, Sir, You have nothing to draw with [no drawing bucket] and the well is deep; how then can You provide living water? [Where do You get Your living water?]
12 Are You greater than and superior to our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well and who used to drink from it himself, and his sons and his cattle also?
13 Jesus answered her, All who drink of this water will be thirsty again.
14 But whoever takes a drink of the water that I will give him shall never, no never, be thirsty any more. But the water that I will give him shall become a spring of water welling up (flowing, bubbling) [continually] within him unto (into, for) eternal life.
15 The woman said to Him, Sir, give me this water, so that I may never get thirsty nor have to come [continually all the way] here to draw.
16 At this, Jesus said to her, Go, call your husband and come back here.
17 The woman answered, I have no husband. Jesus said to her, You have spoken truly in saying, I have no husband.
18 For you have had five husbands, and the man you are now living with is not your husband. In this you have spoken truly.
19 The woman said to Him, Sir, I see and understand that You are a prophet.
AMP

John 4:28-29
28 Then the woman left her water jar and went away to the town. And she began telling the people,

29 Come, see a Man Who has told me everything that I ever did! Can this be [is not this] the Christ? [Must not this be the Messiah, the Anointed One?]
AMP

The town’s destiny was through this woman. Jesus spoke to this woman, she realized He is the Messiah, and the town witnessed. Allow the spirit of prophecy to work until it accomplishes the will of God.

Why does God speak that word to me? And why hasn’t He spoken that Word ever through others? I have heard from Him on my own, but I feel that I’m the only one to not have others speak a Word from God to me.

Acts 9:10-16
10 Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he answered, Here am I, Lord.

11 And the Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying [there].

12 And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias enter and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.

13 But Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard many people tell about this man, especially how much evil and what great suffering he has brought on Your saints at Jerusalem;

14 Now he is here and has authority from the high priests to put in chains all who call upon Your name.

15 But the Lord said to him, Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the descendants of Israel;

16 For I will make clear to him how much he will be afflicted and must endure and suffer for My name's sake
AMP

God sent Ananias to Saul. God needed Ananias to overcome the fear of martyrdom to release Saul to become Paul. When God tells you to do something, there is someone waiting for my obedience.

Gen 2:7
7 Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath or spirit of life, and man became a living being. [1 Cor 15:45-49.]
AMP

When God made man, He put the fingerprint of God on me in the womb. The determined purpose of God never changes. Your individual fingerprint means there is an individual purpose.

Isa 55:11
11 So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
AMP

Just as Jesus was described by John as the Word of God, I am a word of God – sent to fulfill the purpose. My life will not return void.

Ex 3:1-5
3:1 NOW MOSES kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the back or west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb or Sinai, the mountain of God.

2 The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, yet was not consumed.

3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.

This otherwise would have been ordinary to see a burning bush. But this one had something different – God had something to say.

4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here am I.

5 God said, Do not come near; put your shoes off your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.
AMP

When God sees that you finally stop to pay attention, He can then speak.

Ex 3:6-8
6 Also He said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters and oppressors; for I know their sorrows and sufferings and trials.

8 And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand and power of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a land good and large, a land flowing with milk and honey [a land of plenty] — to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
AMP

There are people God wants me to talk to. Moses wasn’t in the right place. He was tending sheep. God never intended for that to happen. He was called to deliver people. Come back to the intended purpose.

I’ve started something and failed. It was easier to make up my own solution than to do His will for my life. I’ve abandoned the intent for my life in trying my own ways to make it happen. The Holy Spirit is in my and will walk beside me. I am to take hold of God’s original intent. They are still waiting.

Ex 3:12
12 God said, I will surely be with you; and this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain [Horeb, or Sinai].
AMP

Moses is out with sheep on a mountain, but that when he returns to that same mountain – Moses will have 2 million people at the foot of the mountain. Eventually it would be the place of the commandments.

There are people waiting for my obedience. What are my dreams? What is my prophetic word? How many people are waiting for me to fulfill my destiny? It isn’t money or education that is the issue, but obedience. What is holding me back? Why am I in a desert place? I am in a place where God can now use me.

Tags: Bible, Jesus, prophetic, prophecy, World Harvest Outreach,  Gene Strite, 

Torn apart

Still in disillusionment on how to reach that rest, I stop to ponder what it is that truly needs to change in my life. In my heart, I place God above all else. In practice, I rely upon His strength to endure all. In planning, I seek His ways. Have I missed the mark in hearing His will clearly? Am I taking things upon myself more than I ought? I am unsure.

Though I do not feel closely connected to a core group of people, I feel as though things are sufficient. My schedule has taken me away from other areas that I would prefer to develop further: church, friends, interests, and even my family. The schedule does need to be altered.

Pressures abound through my schedule, and the additional expectations placed upon my position as graduation project supervisor can be overwhelming. Truly these duties are more than what is reasonable to place upon a teacher. The goodness of my heart is not enough to provide the proper protection and supervision of this process. It takes more than I have to offer, it is an administrative issue beyond my abilities. Yet, all relies upon me. Caught in the chaos of managing this, I seem unable to advance. I want to take it all upon myself and live up to the expectations on me, yet I want also to see this advance beyond me.

Though a new friend has become a very promising option to cultivate, my schedule holds me back from this. Once I would have added all the pieces together to make them fit my plans. This time I am so passive about this circumstance that it could be construed as disinterest. I don’t feel afraid of allowing this experience to occur. It doesn’t seem awkward. It does, however, seem to be out of my hands. I trust God has all this in His control, and the patience to allow things to occur at His pace. I do seem uncomfortable with the idea of being passive about the possible pursuit of romance. I am not intending to initiate, but I also find passivity to be inappropriate.

My long range dreams are in question. I have been passionate about assisting impoverished nations in the business world via education and technology that would cultivate a global economy and increase the living standards while glorifying God through it all. To reach that place, I want my personal education and experiences to be highly advanced, to offer the best instruction while seamlessly integrating into standards the world will recognize. These areas will allow students to transfer from there conditions to the rest of the world. Why are these in question? The training required, the experiences necessary, and the investments prepared will consume most of my life. Perhaps this is truly the area that brings the most frustrations. Thus far, it seems at times like a grand idea I’ve created, yet at other times it seems like a passion God has placed within me.

I read the word, but feel little depth to the experience. I pray and hear from God, but don’t find satisfaction. Am I distracted? Am I lacking? What can be done to remedy this? I can’t figure this out on my own. Instead, I cry out to God, make the way. If I must be humbled, it will be welcomed. If I must be patient, then I will wait. What is it Lord that must be done? What is it that must be removed? Why have I spun my wheels for the past five years? Why do I feel that what has been accomplished has gone unnoticed? Where are you taking me? Why is it that I have never had the experience within my local church to have a word spoken over my life? This restlessness is unnerving. Busied by the functions of living, I want nothing more than to let all come to a halt and everything is focused upon you.

I want the following things to change:

A renewed passion for prayer and depth of relationship with God, that it would not feel so monotonous and routine. Nor do I want to feel guilt for not being in the Word, or spending a set amount of time in prayer. I want to these to come naturally.

Clarification on the long range vision, to confirm or decline. Reveal the plans to attain these dreams.

Finances, business opportunities, and professional perspectives to be changed

To witness fellow believers genuinely interested and acknowledging that which God has placed within me in regards to education, business, and technology. This involves me showing interest in them, providing times for this to occur, and seeking it not for personal gain but to be a servant in these arenas to others.

Body, soul, and spirit to be both calm and active for God. Finding the place of discipline, health, and rest coexisting.

To allow relationships in my life to grow beyond the spinning plates I currently feel to a sense of depth and likemindedness.

Tags: Bible, Jesus, 

Where else can I go?

John 6:67-68 "Jesus said to the Twelve, Will you also go away? [And do you too desire to leave Me?] Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words (the message) of eternal life."

Nowhere else can satisfy. Nothing else will do. No matter how crazy this Jesus may be, His claims may seem, or His unlikely methods may be revealed - He is the only thing that will do.

Captivating

Currently reading: Captivating by Stasi Eldredge

Quotes that have inspired me from the new book:

There has been precious little wisdom offered on the path to becoming a woman.

An underlying, gut feeling of failing at who she is. I am not enough, and, I am too much at the same time.

We feel unseen, even by those who are closest to us. We feel unsought - that no one has the passion or the courage to pursue us, to get past our messiness to find the woman deep inside. And we feel uncertain - uncertain what it even means to be a woman; uncertain what it trulty means to be feminine; uncertain if we are or ever will be.

But the desires set deep in our hearts seem like a luxury, granted only to those women who get their acts together. The message to the rest of us - whether from a driven culture or a driven church - is try harder

Your feminie heart has been created with the greatest of all possible dignities - as a reflection of God's own heart.

Why am I embarrassed to tell you this? I simply loved feeling wanted fought for. This desire is set deep in the heart of every little girl - and every woman. Yet most of us are ashamed of it.

He saw me and knew me and pursued me. I loved being romanced.

Now, being romanced isn't all that a woman wants, and John and I are certainly not saying that a woman ought to derive the meaning of her existence from whether or not she is being or has been romanced by a man... but don't you see that you want this?

There is something fierce in the heart of a woman.

And what about women like Esther and Mary and Ruth? They were biblical characters who had irreplaceable roles in a Great Story. Not "safe" and "nice" women, not merely "sweet," but passionate and powerful women who were beautiful as warriors.

An adventure that is shared. We do not want the adventure merely for adventure's sake but for what it requires of us for others. We don't want to be alone in it; we want to be in it with others.

Our lives were meant to be lived with others. As echoes of the Trinity, we remember something. Made in the image of a perfect relationship, we are relational to the core of our beings and filled with a desire for transcendent purpose. We long to be an irreplaceable part of a shared adventure.

We desire to possess a beauty that is worth pursuing, worth fighting for, a beauty that is core to who we truly are. We want beauty that can be seen; beauty that can be felt; beauty that affects others; a beauty all our own to unveil.

Women don't fear a man's strenth if he is a good man. In fact, passivity might make a man "safe," but it has done untold damage to women in the long run. It certainly did to Eve

There is nothing that inspires a man to courage so much as the woman he loves.

This is not to say that a woman is a "helpless creature" who can't live her life without a man. I'm saying that men long to offer their strength on behalf of a woman.

A woman in the presence of a good man, a real man, loves being a woman. His strength allows her feminine heart to floursih. His pursuit draws out her beauty. And a man in the presence of a real woman loves being a man. Her beauty arouses him to play the man, it draws out his strength. She inspires him to be a hero.

A journey toward the restoration and release of the woman you always long to be..

A woman who at her core was made for romance, made to play an irreplaceable role in a shared adventure, and who really does possess a beauty all her own to unveil. The woman god had in mind when he made Eve..and when he made you. Glorious, powerful, and captivating.

A woman's struggle with her sense of worth points to something glorious she was designed to be.

"What is a woman - what is her design?" and, "Why did God place Woman in our midst?"

She is the crescendo, the final, astonishing work of God.

She fills a place in the world nothing and no one else can fill

"The whole, vast world is incomplete without me. Creation reached its zenith in me.

And she, too, bears the image of God, but in a way that only the feminine can speak.

When you are with a woman, ask yourself, what is she telling me about God? It will open up wonders for you.

First, You'll discover that God is relational to his core, that he has a heart for romance. Second, that he longs to share adventures with us - adventures you cannot accomplish without him. And finally, that God has a beauty to unveil. A beauty that is captivating and powerfully redemptive.

The vast desire and capacity a woman has for intimate relationships tells us of God's vast desire and capacity for intimate relationships.

Not only does God long for us, be he longs to be loved by us.

He wants us to love him. To seek him with all our hearts. A woman longs to be sought after, too, with the whole hear of her pursuer. God longs to be desired. Just as a woman longs to be desired.

So God endows Woman with certain qualities that are essential to relationship, qualities that speak of God. She is inviting. She is vulnerable. She is tender. She embodies mercy. She is also fierce and fiercely devoted...a woman's righteous jealousy speaks of the jealousy of God for us.

All that human beings were intended to do here on earth - all the creativity and exploration, all the battle and rescue and nurture - we were inteded to do together. In fact, not only is Eve needed, but she is desperately needed.

God is essential. He wants us to need him - despearately. Eve is essential. She has an irreplaceable role to play. And so you'll see that women are endowed with fierce devotion, an ability to suffer great hardships a vision to make the world a better place.

Beauty is the essence of God

Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful.

And isn't that just what a woman longs to hear? "You are radiant this evening.

God gave Eve a beautiful form and a beautiful spirit.
She expresses beauty in both. Better, she expresses beauty simply in who she is. Like God, it is her essence.

Stasi asked me, "Have you seen one painting of a naked man?" The point was startling....For one thing, men look ridiculous lying on a bed buck naked, half-covered with a sheet. It doesn't fit the essence of masculinity. Something in you wants to say, "Get up already and get a job. Cut the grass. Get to work." For Adam is captured best in motion, doing something. His essence is strength in action.

Beauty also invites. Recall what it is like to hear a truly beautiful piece of music. It captures you; you want to sit down and just drink it in.

Beauty nourishes. It is a kind of food our souls crave.

Beauty comforts...After I lost my dearest friend, Brent, there were months when only beauty helped. I could not hear words of counsel. I could not read or even pray. Only beauty helped.

Beauty inspires.

Beauty is transcendent. It is our most immediate experience of the eternal. Think of what it's like to behold a gorgeous sunset, or the ocean at dawn. Remember the ending of a great story. We yearn to linger, to experience it all our days.

One of the deepest ways a woman bears the image of God is in her mystery..."It is the glory of God to conceal a matter," says the book of Proverbs, "to search out a matter is the glory of kings"(25:2). God yearns to be known. But he wants to be sought after by those who would know him.

There is dignity here; God does not throw himself at any passerby..."You cannot simply have me. You must seek me, pursue me. I won't let you in unless I know you love me.

Tags: Bible, Jesus, woman, Stasi Eldredge

It's time

It is time for:

fear to die

to view ourselves as God does

to fulfill the will of God

Plans for the year ahead:
1. Seek the kingdom of God above all things
2. Live in the purposes of God for my life
3. Do not be controlled by anxiety or fear, but be controlled by faith
4. Become (bad) debt free
5. To step into new opportunities unimaginiable
6. See what others cannot
7. Allow God to reveal things that will deliver a breakthrough
8. To rise whenever God awakens me to pray
9. Pay close attention to the stirrings of the heart
10. To overcome fear to posses
11. Move beyond addition in faith to multiplication

In order to see what God sees, we cannot rely on our natural senses. Fear will overtake you. Insight is the ability to know certain things because you have a new set of eyes. Forsight is the ability to see and perceive events before they occur. This prophetic forsight will enable us to keep our gaze fixed upon Christ.

Numbers 13:17-33 Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, and said to them, Get up this way by the South (the Negeb) and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is and whether the people who dwell there are strong or weak, few or many, and whether the land they live in is good or bad, and whether the cities they dwell in are camps or strongholds, And what the land is, whether it is fat or lean, whether there is timber on it or not. And be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes. So they went up and scouted through the land from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob, to the entrance of Hamath. And then went up into the South (the Negeb) and came to Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai [probably three tribes of] the sons of Anak were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two [of them]; they brought also some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol [cluster] because of the cluster which the Israelites cut down there. And they returned from scouting out the land after forty days. They came to Moses and Aaron and to all the Israelite congregation in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, and brought them word, and showed them the land's fruit. They told Moses, We came to the land to which you sent us; surely it flows with milk and honey. This is its fruit. But the people who dwell there are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; moreover, there we saw the sons of Anak [of great stature and courage].Amalek dwells in the land of the South (the Negeb); the Hittite, the Jebusite, and the Amorite dwell in the hill country; and the Canaanite dwells by the sea and along by the side of the Jordan [River].Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it; we are well able to conquer it. But his fellow scouts said, We are not able to go up against the people [of Canaan], for they are stronger than we are.So they brought the Israelites an evil report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, The land through which we went to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. And all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

We are no mere grasshoppers, we are not meant to live in fear. What we see with our natural eyes is not reality. Tune in to God, direct your attention there to find out what is true.

Joshua 14:7-9 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout out the land. And I brought him a report as it was in my heart. But my brethren who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, Surely the land on which your feet have walked shall be an inheritance to you and your children always, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.

Though Joshua spoke truly regarding the future, he was not believed. Yet because it was the plans of God, Joshua was greatly rewarded for pursuing God. In order to seek out His kingdom first, it is of top priority that His house be built:

Haggai 1:2-9 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' "Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"

Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD. "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.

Isaiah 60:21 Your people also shall all be [uncompromisingly and consistently] righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified.

What land is mine to posses? What lies ahead for me? The place in which God has sent me to spy out awaits, and I will trust Him to make the way and deliever it.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 [Most] blessed is the man who believes in, trusts in, and relies on the Lord, and whose hope and confidence the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters that spreads out its roots by the river; and it shall not see and fear when heat comes; but its leaf shall be green. It shall not be anxious and full of care in the year of drought, nor shall it cease yielding fruit.

God's plans are for me. His desire is that I seek Him, build a place for Him to dwell within. He wants to be pursued and found. All will be set in order.

Tags: Bible, Jesus, prophetic, prophecy, World Harvest Outreach, resolutions, Gene Strite,