LOWER BELL CANYON RESERVOIR

 HIKING SANDY

BELL CANYON TRAILHEAD
GPS: 40°34'18.6"N 111°48'00.4"W

WATERSHED AREA

NEW PARKING AREA

LOWER BELL CANYON TRAIL

HIKE TO THE RESERVOIR

RATINGS: NEWBIES
MILEAGE: .6 MILES EACH WAY
ELEVATION GAIN: 250'
KID FRIENDLY

RESTROOMS

NO SWIMMING OR WADING
NO DOGS

LOWER BELL CANYON RESERVOIR

BELL CREEK BRIDGE

DUCKS SWIMMING

BELL CANYON RESERVOIR FALLS

BONNEVILLE SHORELINE ~ RATTLESNAKE GULCH CONNECTOR

 MILLCREEK CANYON

BONNEVILLE SHORELINE

RATTLESNAKE GULCH

MILEAGE: 1.3 MILES EACH WAY

ELEVATION GAIN: 633'

SUMMER WILDFLOWERS

MILLCREEK PIPELINE TRAIL

HIKING DOWN BONNEVILLE SHORELINE

MOUNTAIN BIKERS, RUNNERS, AND
HIKERS ENJOY THIS NEW TRAIL

DOGS OFF LEASH ON ODD DAYS

MYSTERY ROCK

RATTLESNAKE GULCH TRAILHEAD
GPS: 40°41'29.2"N 111°46'08.0"W

RESTROOMS 

MILLCREEK CANYON FEE 

KING DAVID'S CENSUS

 PRIDE BUSTERS

KING DAVID'S PRIDE

Once again the anger of the Lord flared against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a national census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the Lord told him.  2 Samuel 24:1 TLB

"HE" WHO ENTICED KING DAVID INTO THE SIN OF PRIDE IS SATAN.

Then Satan brought disaster upon Israel, for he made David decide to take a census.          1 Chronicles 21:1 TLB

DAVID MADE GOD FURIOUS.  DISOBEYING GOD, HE ORDERED JOAB TO TAKE A CENSUS.

So the king said to Joab, commander-in-chief of his army, “Take a census of all the people from one end of the nation to the other, so that I will know how many of them there are.”

But Joab replied, “God grant that you will live to see the day when there will be a hundred times as many people in your kingdom as there are now! But you have no right to rejoice in their strength.”  

2 Samuel 24:2-3 TLB

JOAB LET DAVID KNOW,  YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE PROUD AND REJOICE IN THEIR STRENGTH BY TAKING A CENSUS.

But the king’s command overcame Joab’s remonstrance; so Joab and the other army officers went out to count the people of Israel.  First they crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, south of the city that lies in the middle of the valley of Gad, near Jazer;  then they went to Gilead in the land of Tahtim-hodshi and to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon;  and then to the stronghold of Tyre, and all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites, and south to Judah as far as Beersheba.  Having gone through the entire land, they completed their task in nine months and twenty days.  And Joab reported the number of the people to the king—800,000 men of conscription age in Israel and 500,000 in Judah.   2 Samuel 24:4-9  TLB

HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTED KING DAVID OF HIS SIN OF PRIDE.  THIS IS GOD'S KINGDOM!

But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him, and he said to the Lord, “What I did was very wrong. Please forgive this foolish wickedness of mine.”  2 Samuel 24:10 TLB

3 CHOICES OF PUNISHMENT

The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s contact with God.

The Lord said to Gad, “Tell David that I will give him three choices.”

So Gad came to David and asked him, “Will you choose seven years of famine across the land, or to flee for three months before your enemies, or to submit to three days of plague? Think this over and let me know what answer to give to God.”

“This is a hard decision,” David replied, “but it is better to fall into the hand of the Lord (for his mercy is great) than into the hands of men.”    2 Samuel 24:11-14 TLB

WHICH ONE: 7 YEAR FAMINE?  FLEE 3 MONTHS FROM YOUR ENEMIES?  OR 3 DAY PLAGUE?

So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel that morning, and it lasted for three days; and seventy thousand men died throughout the nation.   2 Samuel 24:15 TLB

GOD SPARED JERUSALEM

But as the death angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord was sorry for what was happening and told him to stop. He was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite at the time.  2 Samuel 24:16 TLB

SOLOMON'S TEMPLE WILL BE BUILT ON THE THRESHING FLOOR IN THE FUTURE.

When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “Look, I am the one who has sinned! What have these sheep done? Let your anger be only against me and my family.”

That day Gad came to David and said to him, “Go and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”  So David went to do what the Lord had commanded him.  

2 Samuel 24:17-19 The Living Bible

KING DAVID REPENTED FROM HIS PRIDE.  AND HE BUILT AN ALTAR AND SACRIFICED FOR HIS SIN.

WHEN THE LEADER OF A NATION SINS, THE ENTIRE NATION SUFFERS!

MOTHER OF THE SONS OF ZEBEDEE

 PRIDE BUSTERS

JESUS LETS HIS DISCIPLES KNOW THAT HE IS GOING TO DIE IN JERUSALEM, AND BE RAISE BACK TO LIFE.

As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside; and on the way he said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and experts in the law, and they will condemn him to death.  They will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, flog, and crucify him. On the third day he will be raised.”  Matthew 20:17-19 EHV

MOTHER MARY'S SISTER, CAME TO JESUS WITH HER TWO SONS, KNEELING BEFORE HIM.

Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking something of him.  He said to her, “What do you want?”

She said to him, “Promise that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left hand.”

But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”

They said to him, “We are.”

He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not for me to give; rather these places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”  Matthew 20:20-23 EHV

THE MOTHER OF JAMES AND JOHN, WANTED HER SONS TO HAVE THE POSITION OF AUTHORITY, SITTING ON JESUS' RIGHT AND LEFT HAND.

THE OTHER DISCIPLES REACTED IN JEALOUSY AND ANGER.

When the ten heard this, they were angry with the two brothers.

But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It will not be that way among you. Instead whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:24-28 EHV  Evangelical Heritage Version

CONCLUSION: IT IS PRIDEFUL TO EXALT YOURSELF.  IF YOU WANT TO BE GREAT IN GOD'S KINGDOM, YOU MUST BE HUMBLE AND LEARN TO BE A SERVANT.

JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM EPHRATHAH

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY

 "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

Too little to be among the clans of Judah,

From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.

His goings forth are from everlasting,

From the ancient days.”

Therefore He will give them up until the time

When she who is in childbirth has borne a child.

Then the remainder of His brothers

Will return to the sons of Israel.

And He will stand and shepherd His flock

In the strength of Yahweh,

In the majesty of the name of Yahweh His God.

And they will remain

Because at that time He will be great

To the ends of the earth."

Micah 5:2-4 LSB Legacy Standard Bible

LETTER GREETINGS

REVEALING JESUS

The REVELATION of JESUS CHRIST, 

which God gave to Him to show to His servants things which must soon take place. He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,  who bears record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.  Revelation 1:1-2 MEV 

PROMISE OF A BLESSING

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.  Revelation 1:3 MEV 

LETTER TO SEVEN CHURCHES IN ASIA

John, To the seven churches which are in Asia:  Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,  and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,  and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.   Revelation 1:4-6 MEV 

THE INTIMATE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST.

JESUS WILL RETURN LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT.  LIKE THE PARABLE OF THE 10 VIRGINS, WE NEED TO BE READY WHEN THE GROOM RETURNS FOR HIS BRIDE, THE CHURCH.

Look! He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Revelation 1:7-8 MEV Modern English Version

VISION OF JESUS

 REVEALING JESUS

JOHN IS THE WRITER

It is I, your brother John, a fellow sufferer for the Lord’s sake, who am writing this letter to you. I, too, have shared the patience Jesus gives, and we shall share his Kingdom!

WHERE: John on the island of Patmos.

WHEN: On the Lord's Day. The first day of the week.  (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)

WHAT: John was preaching Jesus and worshiping God. 

WHO: John heard a loud voice like a trumpet saying, I am the Alpha and Omega.

WHY: John was instructed to write down all the "THINGS WHICH YOU HAVE SEEN."

I was on the island of Patmos, exiled there for preaching the Word of God and for telling what I knew about Jesus Christ.  It was the Lord’s Day and I was worshiping, when suddenly I heard a loud voice behind me, a voice that sounded like a trumpet blast, saying, “I am A and Z, the First and Last!” And then I heard him say, “Write down everything you see, and send your letter to the seven churches in Turkey: to the church in Ephesus, the one in Smyrna, and those in Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” Revelation 1:9-11 TLB

JOHN SEES JESUS HOLDING SEVEN STARS, AMONG SEVEN GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS

When I turned to see who was speaking, there behind me were seven candlesticks of gold. And standing among them was one who looked like Jesus, who called himself the Son of Man, wearing a long robe circled with a golden band across his chest.  His hair was white as wool or snow, and his eyes penetrated like flames of fire.  His feet gleamed like burnished bronze, and his voice thundered like the waves against the shore. He held seven stars in his right hand and a sharp, double-bladed sword in his mouth, and his face shone like the power of the sun in unclouded brilliance.  Revelation 1:12-16 TLB

JOHN BOWS DOWN TREMBLING

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead; but he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! Though I am the First and Last, the Living One who died, who is now alive forevermore, who has the keys of hell and death—don’t be afraid! Write down what you have just seen and what will soon be shown to you.  Revelation 1:17-19 TLB  The Living Bible

JESUS REVEALS THE MEANING  

Here is the secret of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven lampstands are the seven churches, and the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.  Revelation 1:20 NCV  New Century Version

GOD HAS ANGELS WATCHING OVER HIS CHURCH