[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY MARCH 10

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY MARCH 10

WORD OF WISDOM

The reason our problems seem so big is because we make God seem so small.

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DAILY DEVOTION

Divine DNA


If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth
righteousness is born of him.
1 John 2:29

In 2007, a company called 23andMe released a new product. For the first
time, people could get their DNA tested to determine their ancestry. Since
then, millions of people have taken a home DNA test to find out more about
their heritage. Many people have built family trees and found relatives they
didn't know existed. Because DNA is unique from person to person, but also
passed down from parents to their children, it has proven to be an excellent
way of identifying family members. The evidence of DNA heritage has even
been used by the police to solve cases that were many years old.
Every child of God has a divine DNA-a new nature that is not like the sinful
nature with which we are born. There are no perfect Christians, but every
Christian has that new nature. And just as children inherit physical
characteristics from their parents, we inherit that nature from God, and it
will be on display in our lives. James highlighted the importance of our
lives backing up what we claim we believe. "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast
faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will
shew thee my faith by my works" (James 2:18).
We are not capable of being righteous on our own. Doing right is not in the
DNA of a person who was born a sinner. That is why we need the new nature.
The nature we receive from God when we are saved is completely unlike what
we had before. And just like DNA determines our hair color, height, and so
much more, the divine nature that comes at salvation will show up in the way
that we live. While we do not receive salvation through good works, they
will naturally follow after we come to Christ.
Those who have truly received God's new nature will reflect it in the way
that they live.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

Joshua 22-24 New King James Version
Eastern Tribes Return to Their Lands
22 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of
Manasseh, 2 and said to them: "You have kept all that Moses the servant of
the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded
you. 3 You have not [a]left your brethren these many days, up to this day,
but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God. 4 And now
the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now
therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession,
which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the
Jordan. 5 But take[b] careful heed to do the commandment and the law which
Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to
walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to
serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." 6 So Joshua blessed
them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

7 Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan,
but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on
this side of the Jordan, westward. And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to
their tents, he blessed them, 8 and spoke to them, saying, "Return with much
riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with
bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the [c]spoil of your
enemies with your brethren."

9 So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of
Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which
is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of
their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the Lord
by the hand of Moses.

An Altar by the Jordan
10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of
Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of
Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan-a great, impressive altar. 11
Now the children of Israel heard someone say, "Behold, the children of
Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an
altar on the [d]frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the
Jordan-on the children of Israel's side." 12 And when the children of Israel
heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered
together at Shiloh to go to war against them.

13 Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest
to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of
Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, 14 and with him ten rulers, one ruler
each from the chief house of every tribe of Israel; and each one was the
head of the house of his father among the [e]divisions of Israel. 15 Then
they came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the
tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying,
16 "Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord: 'What treachery[f] is this
that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day
from following the Lord, in that you have built for yourselves an altar,
that you might rebel this day against the Lord? 17 Is the iniquity of Peor
not enough for us, from which we are not cleansed till this day, although
there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord, 18 but that you must
turn away this day from following the Lord? And it shall be, if you rebel
today against the Lord, that tomorrow He will be angry with the whole
congregation of Israel. 19 [g]Nevertheless, if the land of your possession
is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the Lord, where
the Lord's tabernacle stands, and take possession among us; but do not rebel
against the Lord, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar
besides the altar of the Lord our God. 20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah
[h]commit a trespass in the [i]accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the
congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.'
"

21 Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of
Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the [j]divisions of Israel: 22
"The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, He knows, and let Israel itself
know-if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the Lord, do not save
us this day. 23 If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following
the Lord, or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings, or if to
offer peace offerings on it, let the Lord Himself require an account. 24 But
in fact we have done it [k]for fear, for a reason, saying, 'In time to come
your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, "What have you to do
with the Lord God of Israel? 25 For the Lord has made the Jordan a border
between you and us, you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no
part in the Lord." So your descendants would make our descendants cease
fearing the Lord.' 26 Therefore we said, 'Let us now prepare to build
ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, 27 but that it
may be a [l]witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we
may perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings,
with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may
not say to our descendants in time to come, "You have no part in the Lord."
' 28 Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our
generations in time to come, that we may say, 'Here is the replica of the
altar of the Lord which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor
for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.' 29 Far be it from
us that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn from following the Lord
this day, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for
sacrifices, besides the altar of the Lord our God which is before His
tabernacle."

30 Now when Phinehas the priest and the rulers of the congregation, the
heads of the [m]divisions of Israel who were with him, heard the words that
the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh
spoke, it pleased them. 31 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said
to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of
Manasseh, "This day we perceive that the Lord is among us, because you have
not committed this treachery against the Lord. Now you have delivered the
children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord."

32 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from
the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to
the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to
them. 33 So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of
Israel blessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to
destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

34 The children of Reuben and the children of [n]Gad called the altar,
Witness, "For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God."

Joshua's Farewell Address
23 Now it came to pass, a long time after the Lord had given rest to Israel
from all their enemies round about, that Joshua was old, advanced in age. 2
And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for
their judges, and for their officers, and said to them:

"I am old, advanced in age. 3 You have seen all that the Lord your God has
done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who
has fought for you. 4 See, I have divided to you by lot these nations that
remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the
nations that I have cut off, as far as the Great Sea westward. 5 And the
Lord your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your
sight. So you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you. 6
Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the
Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or
to the left, 7 and lest you go[o] among these nations, these who remain
among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause
anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, 8
but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.
9 For the Lord has [p]driven out from before you great and strong nations;
but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. 10
One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who
fights for you, as He promised you. 11 Therefore take careful heed to
yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. 12 Or else, if indeed you do go
back, and cling to the remnant of these nations-these that remain among
you-and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, 13 know
for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations
from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on
your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land
which the Lord your God has given you.

14 "Behold, this day I[q] am going the way of all the earth. And you know in
all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all
the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come
to pass for you; not one word of them has failed. 15 Therefore it shall come
to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the Lord your
God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you all harmful things, until
He has destroyed you from this good land which the Lord your God has given
you. 16 [r]When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God,
which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down
to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall
perish quickly from the good land which He has given you."

The Covenant at Shechem
24 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for
the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their
officers; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all
the people, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'Your fathers, including
Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor, dwelt on the other
side of [s]the River in old times; and they served other gods. 3 Then I took
your father Abraham from the other side of [t]the River, led him throughout
all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his [u]descendants and gave him
Isaac. 4 To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave the mountains of
Seir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. 5 Also I
sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among
them. Afterward I brought you out.

6 'Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and
the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red
Sea. 7 So they cried out to the Lord; and He put darkness between you and
the Egyptians, brought the sea upon them, and covered them. And your eyes
saw what I did in Egypt. Then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time. 8 And
I brought you into the land of the Amorites, who dwelt on the other side of
the Jordan, and they fought with you. But I gave them into your hand, that
you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you. 9 Then
Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and
sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. 10 But I would not
listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you
out of his hand. 11 Then you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho. And
the men of Jericho fought against you-also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the
Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
But I delivered them into your hand. 12 I sent the hornet before you which
drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not
with your sword or with your bow. 13 I have given you a land for which you
did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them;
you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.'

14 "Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and
put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of [v]the
River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve
the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the
gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of [w]the River,
or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my
house, we will serve the Lord."

16 So the people answered and said: "Far be it from us that we should
forsake the Lord to serve other gods; 17 for the Lord our God is He who
brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of
bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the
way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed. 18 And the
Lord drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who
dwelt in the land. We also will serve the Lord, for He is our God."

19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord, for He is a
holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor
your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then He will
turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good."

21 And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the Lord!"

22 So Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that
you have chosen the Lord for yourselves, to serve Him."

And they said, "We are witnesses!"

23 "Now therefore," he said, "put away the foreign gods which are among you,
and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel."

24 And the people said to Joshua, "The Lord our God we will serve, and His
voice we will obey!"

25 So Joshua made[x] a covenant with the people that day, and made for them
a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

26 Then Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. And he took
a large stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary
of the Lord. 27 And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall
be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He
spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your
God." 28 So Joshua let the people depart, each to his own inheritance.

Death of Joshua and Eleazar
29 Now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the
servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old. 30 And they
buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Serah, which is
in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash.

31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the
elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He
had done for Israel.

32 The bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought up out of
Egypt, they buried at Shechem, in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought
from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for one hundred [y]pieces of
silver, and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph.

33 And Eleazar the son of Aaron died. They buried him in a hill belonging to
Phinehas his son, which was given to him in the mountains of Ephraim.

Footnotes
Joshua 22:3 forsaken
Joshua 22:5 be very careful to do
Joshua 22:8 plunder
Joshua 22:11 Lit. front
Joshua 22:14 Lit. thousands
Joshua 22:16 unfaithful act
Joshua 22:19 However
Joshua 22:20 act unfaithfully
Joshua 22:20 devoted thing
Joshua 22:21 Lit. thousands
Joshua 22:24 Lit. from fear
Joshua 22:27 testimony
Joshua 22:30 Lit. thousands
Joshua 22:34 LXX adds and half the tribe of Manasseh
Joshua 23:7 associate with
Joshua 23:9 dispossessed
Joshua 23:14 I am going to die.
Joshua 23:16 Or if ever
Joshua 24:2 The Euphrates
Joshua 24:3 The Euphrates
Joshua 24:3 Lit. seed
Joshua 24:14 The Euphrates
Joshua 24:15 The Euphrates
Joshua 24:25 Lit. cut a covenant
Joshua 24:32 Heb. qesitah, an unknown ancient measure of weight