COZBI !!!!!!!!

COZBI !!!!!! _And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Cozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family. (NUMBERS 25:15)  # 1 Her name means "deceitful," and deceit had helped her seduce the Israelite learders Zimri. But it doesn't seem Zimri was slow in following her, and he wasn't the only one of his people who fell. Many followed the Moabites and Midianite woman into sexual sin while worshiping  their idols.

# 2 _God's anger burned brightly against His people, and retribution followed. He commanded Moses to kill the leaders and show off their bodies to His people. Meanwhile a plague broke out among the Isralites, perhaps to give them a picture of the deadliness of their sin.

# 3 _At that moment, in front of everyone, Zimri led Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite chief, into a tent__the sort of place for prostitutes. While the rest of Israel repented of their sins, Zimri marched right by the whole assembly of Israel, ready to continue his wrongdoing.
# 4 _Aaron's grandson, Phinehas, quickly took care of the problem by running a spear through the couple's bodies, taking their lives. With the death of this willfully disobedient pair, the plague on Israel stopped__but not before twenty-four thousand people died.
# 5 _Cozbi shows us that sin doesn't pay. God may be patient with us, but He does not wink at disobedience. If we boldly continue in sin, it will eventually bring terrible judgment. Worse yet, our wrong may affect many innocent lives as well as our own. Are we willing to take that risk?

CHLOE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

chloe !!!! _My brothers, some from Chloe's household have imformed me that there are quarrels among you. (1 CORINTHINANS1:11) We don't really know anything more about Chloe or her household than this verse reveals, but she was probably an important woman, since she's named as the heade of her household. And we know a lot about her church from Paul's letters to the Corinthians.

# 2 _Chloe didn't belong to a perfect congregation__division, not unity, was the hallmark of the Corinthian church. Everyone wanted to choose a leader to follow: Paul, Apollos, Peter (Cephas), or Christ. No one seemed to be in charge.   

# 3 _Obviously some faithful believer from Chloe's household, perhaps even Chloe herself, became troubled by the quarrels that divided the Corinthian church. A report got back to Paul that these foolish arguments had separated believers. When he heard, he confronted the young Corinthian Christians, even generally naming the source of his information. Because Paul received this report, he was able to save the church from an implosion.

# 4 _Should we find ourselves in her situation, Chloe gives us an example. Do we drop a word in a church learder's ear or keep it to ourselves? we wonder. God provides us with the wisdom for each problem we face. By speaking now, we could defuse a serious problem later. 

CANDACE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CANDACE !!!!!!!!!
# 1 _So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship. (ACTS 8:27)
In the first century, unlike today, Candace was not a name, but a title. It belonged to the queen mother of the ruler of an area the Greeks called Meroe, around the upper reaches of the Nile River. The people of that nation felt the king was so holy he was good for nothing temporal, so Candace carried out many of his earthly responsibilities. As a trade center, her country was very wealthy, so her powerful official in charge of the treasury would have had the ability to travel to the Holy City for worship.
# 2 _From this trip, he brought back more than Candace would have expected__the news of the Messiah struck the Ethiopian eunuch's heart quickly, and he accepted Christ. According to tradition, the woman he served also accepted Christ.
# 3 _We never know, when we share our faith, what important person may be touched by our words. Though our friends might be humble, we may connect with a poweful man or woman who needs to come to faith. With a single witness, like Phillip God's Word may reach a person of influence. Speak up!