BTLN UPDATE

Congrats Dart! This is Dart's second Helmet of the 2012/13 Btln Season! Jordan and Dart both battled hard but it was Dart that walked away with Helmet and the Yorkie!

For only the third time in the second half we played Murderball! I miss those days when we used to play Murderball every other week! I love the new games that we play at Btln but also wish that it were possible to play Murderball more often! After the first game of murderball we had to move Nathan onto my team.(Teams were uneven.) After that we had some of the best Murderball we have played all year! My team won the second game, lost the third, won the fourth and then when it really counted we lost the fifth to Bent's team to lose the night 3-2! The last four games were all very close, it was a lot of fun!

In Bible study we looked at two stories. One from the book of Ezra and one from the book of Nehemiah in our continuing series "The History of the World" or "His Story". (Ezra 1:1-7, Nehemiah 2:1-9)

Through the prophet Jeremiah God promised the nation Israel that after seventy years they would be allowed to move back to the land he had promised to Abraham.(Jeremiah 25:11)

How was God going to do this? Most of the Israelites were exiles in Persia.

Ezra 1:1-3  In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them.

Nehemiah 2:1-8  In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” I was very much afraid, but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” The king said to me, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven, and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.” Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time. I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah? And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.

"the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia"

"And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests."

God was able to use two different kings to complete his plans! What seemed impossible was actually very easy for God!

Luke 1:37  For with God nothing shall be impossible.

We also noticed that before God punished the people of Israel (By sending them into exile.) for disobeying him he already had a plan to bring them back to the promised land.

God has done the same for us! Even though God knew the mistakes we were going to make he created us anyways and also had a plan to reconcile us back to him! 

Revelation 13:8b  The Lamb (Jesus) who was slain from the creation of the world.

2 Timothy 1:9-10  He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

How exciting! Before the beginning of time God had already planned to die for our sins!

Galatians 2:20  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

THE CAPTAIN