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Readings: Joshua 11; Isaiah 15; 2 Timothy 1

In our Old Testament reading today we are with Joshua and the Children of Israel in the battle to take the Promised Land.

Joshua was a great military general, perhaps the greatest Israel ever had, the man chosen by God to lead His people into the land that would become Israel. We first meet him in Exodus 17. The Israelites were ambushed by Amalek and, in a battle that lasted all day, Joshua put them to the sword opening up the way to Mt. Sinai.

The Dome of the Rock, which sits atop the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, is so called because it encloses a rock – which is probably the most famous rock in the world. It is thought by Moslems to contain an imprint that was made by Muhammad’s donkey’s hoof as the prophet ascended to heaven. It also contains a square level imprint which is the exact dimensions of the Ark of the Covenant, and there is every reason to believe that this rock was the location of the Holy of Holies, of Solomon’s Temple.*

The Temple Rock

(Luke 6:47-48)

“(v47) Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was very great.”

Readings: Deuteronomy 28; Song of Solomon 8; Acts 25-26

The Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land occupies a very important part, not only in Israel’s national history, but also in their spiritual development. Moses was given very specific instructions regarding the Tabernacle. The LORD instructed him to order the collection from the people of free will offerings of materials, saying, “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering” (Exodus 25:2). The offerings that were acceptable to God had to be given in the right spirit and the right manner. Offerings given grudgingly were not acceptable.

(Reading: Genesis 4)

Prayer to our Heavenly Father is a great privilege that we all enjoy. Over six hundred prayers are recorded in the Bible. Some describe/introduce this great privilege with the words “call upon”, which describes the action. An example is: “For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?” (Deuteronomy 4:7).

Our AGM & Fraternal Gathering was held on SATURDAY 8th MARCH 2025 and the recordings are now availalable.

Fraternal: Josiah - A Time for Reform
Speaker: Bro Simeon Guntrip

Part 1 Rediscovering God's Word
Part 2 A change of heart - for good

The CBM Media talk by brother John Mathias is also available.

You can find the recordings here: https://www.isolationleague.org/recordings/g00219

Readings: Deuteronomy 21; Song of Solomon 1; Acts 13

Our readings bring us to some profound themes in God’s word, especially the concept of innocent blood being shed and the forgiveness it brings to those who believe. In Deuteronomy 21, we read about the shedding of innocent blood and the process of atonement for it, which foreshadows what we find fulfilled in Christ as described in Acts 13 and symbolized in the Song of Solomon.

Bloodshed at a price

A ‘pillar’ of the church: In the first study of this series, we saw that after the Lord’s resurrection appearance to his brother (1 Corinthians 15:7), James came to be numbered among the earliest believers gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem (Acts 1:14-15). From this beginning, James went on to become the leader and representative of the community of Christians in Jerusalem.

Even as young children we understand the concept of death, yet we tend to live our teenage and young adult lives in denial of it, with sometimes a quite reckless disregard for our mortality.

Yet as we get older and begin to experience the aches and pains, our focus shifts towards the inevitability of death, to that time when as the Psalmist puts it “there is no remembrance of GOD; In the grave who will give Him thanks?”

We have been made in the image, or likeness of GOD and as such we have a relationship with him that cannot be found anywhere else in His creation. The preacher in Ecclesiastes (chapter 3:11) explains our relationship this way: