Discipline Styles

Isaiah 19-21
Today Isaiah gives an oracle concerning Egypt.  He says that the Nile will dry up and that Egypt will "stagger in all its deeds, as a drunken man staggers in his vomit."  But he also says there will be five cities whose allegiances lie with the Lord and they will cry to the Lord and He will deliver them.  Not only them, but Assyria and Israel, too.  But the Lord also told Isaiah to remove his shoes and sackcloth, so he wandered around naked for three years as a sign to Egypt and Cush that they would suffer the same fate.  He also speaks about Babylon today and says that it will fall.

Psalm 59
This is a prayer for deliverance from enemies.

Proverbs 23:13-14
Discipline for children- if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.  If you strike him with a rod, you will save him from Sheol.  I think that's pretty clear.

Galatians 2:1-16
Paul is telling the Galatians more of his story- the places he went and people he was with.  He says that he told the same message to everyone, whether they were influential or not.  But then he had a little run in with Peter.  He called Peter a hypocrite, saying that he acted like a Gentile even though he was a Jew, but expected the Gentiles to act as Jews.  Then he goes on to say that Jew and Gentile do not matter because salvation does not come through the law, but through faith.

Israel-
This past Sunday we had a guest pastor at our church who happens to be of Jewish descent.  He spoke about the peace of Jerusalem and the current state of Israel.  Israel was only founded in 1948, ending 1,900 years of exile for the Jews.  Since then, there have been many wars and lots of different countries inserting their opinions into what actually belongs to Israel.  It is a prosperous state, with many opportunities, but is having to deal with the growing cost of immigrants and a growing lack of water.  All religions are free to minister within their own communities and Jew who claim Jesus as Messiah have recently been able to be recognized as religious entities.  Praise the Lord for increased interest in the gospel.