“A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that he remakes it in his own image…. “-Joan Didion
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
thedailylily.com 
OK!
“Wherever you are, there you are”
I thought of the story of Joshua, Caleb and 10 other spies. I read from the (Message … Numbers 13:17-33, 14:6-9) Now did the 10 or did Caleb and Joshua claim the land? Therefore, proving the thought of this quote?
17 -20 When Moses sent them off to scout out Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and then into the hill country. Look the land over, see what it is like. Assess the people: Are they strong or weak? Are there few or many? Observe the land: Is it pleasant or harsh? Describe the towns where they live: Are they open camps or fortified with walls? And the soil: Is it fertile or barren? Are there forests? And try to bring back a sample of the produce that grows there—this is the season for the first ripe grapes.”
21 -25 With that they were on their way. They scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob toward Lebo Hamath. Their route went through the Negev Desert to the town of Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, descendants of the giant Anak, lived there. Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. When they arrived at the Eshcol Valley they cut off a branch with a single cluster of grapes—it took two men to carry it—slung on a pole. They also picked some pomegranates and figs. They named the place Eshcol Valley (Grape-Cluster-Valley) because of the huge cluster of grapes they had cut down there. After forty days of scouting out the land, they returned home.
26 -27 They presented themselves before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the People of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told the story of their trip:
27 -29 “We went to the land to which you sent us and, oh! It does flow with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak. Amalekites are spread out in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites hold the hill country; and the Canaanites are established on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan.”
30 Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, “Let’s go up and take the land—now. We can do it.”
31 -33 But the others said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.”
14:6-9:” Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, members of the scouting party, ripped their clothes and addressed the assembled People of Israel: “The land we walked through and scouted out is a very good land—very good indeed. If God is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land that flows, as they say, with milk and honey. And he’ll give it to us. Just don’t rebel against God! And don’t be afraid of those people. Why, we’ll have them for lunch! They have no protection and God is on our side. Don’t be afraid of them!”
Caleb, bless him, was an old man chronologically, but he had the attitude and demeanor of a young, energetic, confident youth in mind and spirit. “We are well able”, he chortled, “to take this land”. “GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN” was a famous quote from Caleb. He understood and trusted God enough to know to take possession of the land that the LORD GOD had prepared for them to conquer.
The Israelites who grumbled and mumbled and griped and complained (sound familiar?? see poll on Home Page) could not inherit the land because they refused, out of fear, to DO THE WORKS meet for possessing the Promised Land. Because of Caleb’s and Joshua’s leadership and trust in the LORD GOD of ISRAEL, they did take the younger congregation into the Land, despite all odds concerning the physical and spiritual hindrances that faced them and TOOK THE LAND. THEY POSSESSED IT FOR THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY.
One of the scary things about this story is that after the OLD congregation realized that having refused to go up and take the land because they really were afraid and thus disobedient,and that the LORD was very DISPLEASED, to say the least, with them, they repented and cried out to God and then prepared, presumptuously ,to go up to battle for the land. I guess they figured that the Lord would forgive them for their out & out rebellion and would accompany them to the battle. And they got slaughtered because the LORD did NOT go up with them They wanted HIM to do it their way.
When you go to possess the land, the territory, the KINGDOM you must do it according to the plans & precepts of the Lord God and not by another “way”. There is only one way, one path, one narrow passage that leads to possession of the Kingdom. And the violent take it by force. But it is the Force, the Spirit of the Living God, by which it is accomplished.
The quote for our week reminded me of Sara’s Dec 30, 2006 quote: “Sometimes you’ve got to create what you want to be a part of.” If our whole person is like a house (place to live) than we have a choice in how we create,build and furnish that house that we ‘live’ in. We can be a co-laborer with Christ and build a place that is a ‘habitation of God in the Spirit'(Eph 2:22).This great effort of staking claim will pay off in dividends of being conformed into the image of Christ(Rom 8:29).
Or we can give our place over to the devil (Eph 4:27).We can pursue gratifying ‘I’ and build an idol and image of self. Our ‘place’ will belong to ‘whoever claims it hardest’ as the quote says above. Jesus Christ radically staked a claim to us when he died on the cross and bought us with a price (I cor 6:30). He remembers us because we are engraved on the palms of His hand. And He does want to remake us into His image. Cooperating and co-laboring with Him will assure us a forever place in Heaven.
The Love of Christ Jesus as we allow Him to sit as King on the throne place our our hearts/lives……its Easter…truly Jesus claimed it the hardest..and he desires that none be lost but that all become Sons of the MostHigh…because He Christ Jesus is the Firstborn of many brethern…..and He is from everlasting to everlasting….Gary said where ever you are, there you are…..and God said I AM,that I AM….Those two statements are deep very deep……if one never takes the next step …like you said Gary…there you are ,and thats stuck……dj…Oh and thats like sitting on a fence and thats not good at all …because the Giants can see you and since youre not out takeing the land like Joshua…youre gonna get smushed…..we get changed when we take the next step in obedience…from Glory to Glory…into the image and likeness of Christ….our elder brother..and Lord..and King…dj
I have read stories of many going on vacation in some far away place and falling in love and never ever leaving their new home.
When I visited Scotland, Ireland and England I felt some sense of this. My head could not take it all in and my heart was beating with passion, fear and joy.
I have also seen others like some I know in NC, born, bred and would not ever leave because they embraced their place with all that is within them. While others just casually left without even looking back.
India also rang with a sense of romantic fever for me. Then my heart was broken with the status of the children in so many areas. I guess Mother Theresa knew this quote well and really embraced it. Sometimes I wonder if fear keeps one from fully understanding this quote.
I do not understand it too well and looking forward to hearing from all of you.
Sara I read your response and Garys and I thought Jesus loved us and heaven so much….In my Fathers house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come agin, and receive you unto my self, that where I am, there ye may be also….I agree Sara I too do not quite understand it..this is just a deep quote….so much in it..so much …dj
As I read Sara’s comment above on Joshua and Caleb and the 10 spiesI thought of a quote she posted in Dec 2005 “You must become the chnage you want to see” Gandi
The spies saw the bountiful land and it was a big improvement on the desolation of wandering in the wilderness for forty years. Yet seeing it was not enough. They had to change and go in and do something about it in order to possess it. Maybe fear was an excuse to justify the fact that they were not willing to make those necessary changes to become the change. Maybe they just did not want it bad enough and were too ‘settled’ in their ways. It is an awful thought that we may never experience a new, bountiful place or experience God has for us because we won’t take a step (like Dorothy said above) of obedience. I went back to Sara’s blog “You Call Us From Our Settled Ways”( Jan 19, 2007) and found the first four lines of this prayer so pertinent.
‘O God, you call us from our settled ways,
out of old habits and rutted traditions.
You call us into the land of promise,
to new life and new possibilities.’
I think the Kingdom of Heaven is like that. The song goes,
“THIS LAND IS MINE.GOD GAVE THIS LAND TO ME. WHen your Father gives you title to the territory it is a treasure, a heritage, an inheritance, a possession. How could we ever give it up? How could we look anywhere else except to the Inheritance that our HEAVNELY Father has provided for us? All the silver; all the gold; the cattle on a thousand hills, YES! BUT Oh the AUTHENTIC TREASURE!! The Gates of Pearl! the CRYSTAL SEA! THE EMERALD RAINBOW ABOUT THE THRONE! YES to war and take it by force; to put the old man to death and to stalk the Heavens to obtain and possess that which He has provided for us. Joan Didion was right but in this case I would so stive to remake MY countenance in ITS IMAGE!!