Now I know there are parents here who weep and pray for the salvation of their children � I can see you and stand with, but there is a generation being formed through Storykeepers and our other children's work who will be praying for their parents, indeed there are even people here now that are doing that already.

One of the great benefits of my sabbatical was that we took time to develop our daily devotions as a family. We read and applied a Bible passage and then we gave thanks for answered prayers and brought new prayers, intercessions before God together, the children praying as well as us parents. Do you know we saw tangible results each day? One day we prayed for a cycle repair shop so that we could use the buggy, which had sustained a puncture a couple of days earlier. We left the car park to spot just the shop right opposite the entrance. Within 20 mns we were fixed up and on our way.

Another was that Eoin became a Christian and we have seen a clear difference in his behaviour and his delight in the things of the Lord. Joel received a spiritual gift and his own prayer life is developing. He prays each morning with us.

Now of an estimated 650,000 Israelites who were redeemed from Egypt, brought out by God under his protection, only 2 entered the promised land: Caleb and Joshua. All the rest of the original company died in the desert. Why? For two reasons:

Unbelief;

2)	Disobedience.

A telling, awesome and frightening fact. Even Moses had to die.

But what was the promised land all about?
Well it was a geographical area roughly where the state of Israel is today � we won't go into further detail about that here.
But it is also a picture of the normal Christian life.

�	For the Israelites it was about being slaves in Egypt and the Lord deciding he would redeem them, he would set them free from the world that entrapped them.

Symbolically they were saved from the death of the first born child first of all by obeying a simple command God gave them to spread the blood of a young lamb on their door posts, it would keep them safe from harm.
They were then to escape across the Red sea and through the desert into the promised land, it was intended to take three weeks. The enemy suddenly raced after them, just as the enemy races after us as we attempt to leave the trap of the world.

�	Being delivered from this enemy the second stage is the entry into the wilderness. It is a beautiful picture of the second enemy we face, that of the flesh, which is our personal ambitions, our personal desires, our chasing after what we want rather than what God wants in our lives.

In the desert the people of God were fighting their own desires, they wanted meat and veg and complained about what they didn't have. They were discontent with what