1 Kings 18:20-40 ~ You are GOD

 

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And also

The Septuagint

Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the Macedonian Greek pharaoh of Egypt, sent seventy-two Hebrew translators—six from each of the Twelve Tribes of Israel—from Second Temple era Jerusalem to Alexandria to translate the Torah from Biblical Hebrew into Koine Greek, for inclusion in Library of Alexandria. In a letter of Aristeas to his brother Philocrates,  and it was repeated by Philo, Josephus in Antiquities of the Jews, and by later sources, including St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. It is also found in the Tractate Megillah of the Babylonian Talmud:

King Ptolemy once gathered 72 Elders. He placed them in 72 chambers, each of them in a separate one, without revealing to them why they were summoned. He entered each one's room and said: "Write for me the Torah of Moshe, your teacher". God put it in the heart of each one to translate identically as all the others did.

There is a very good reason 

to 

heed 

Scripture.

Considérez la Révolution française comme un contexte historique: 

A brief look at recent history to see the Agenda still shown today

in Belfast, and the words of the Northern Ireland Head Politicians today saying there will be more immigrants. Saying basically, Ireland will have to just show more compassion when violent immigrants arrive.

Harris-Walz campaign hired a female Presbyterian Minister, somewhat retired to instead do longtime activist, to lead faith outreach. And the campaign issues a set of goals in the new position hire for Pastor Faith Outreach for the White House Administration.

It was more of a threat than a promise. 

New Head of Faith Outreach

Recognize that we’re at a pivotal moment in American democracy where faith voices for justice are needed now more than ever,” she said. “The Harris-Walz campaign is a really unique opportunity to shift the debate."

Faith in Public Life, a faith-focused advocacy effort incubated at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, was the starting point.  Concerned about religious freedom, and engaging new ideals.

Civil Disobedience was part of these works.

To lead or participate in campaigns supporting a range of causes such as immigrant rights, voting rights, health care reform and LGBTQ rights. Drawing in the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, which was critical of the current health care proposals.

The post of Religion Pastor 

would engage 

all the Churches

 to understand they had been worshiping incorrectly 

in the past. 

The former form of Nationalism 

would be replaced 

and intolerance incorrectly 

interpreting Scripture. With a bold new look at Churches in the future.

When the churches cease to govern themselves, advertising their Hezekiah funds for the warring outsiders, there is a very grave line being crossed. 

Notre Dame has seen fires before.

The statues smashed. The chairs, before pews, piled in the center. Fire set upon them as a sacrifice to the Roman gods.  Then the Bibles and books of Notre Dame. It was not a one-time occurrence, and happened again and again when the Revolutionists wanted to poke God to do something to them.

I asked my mother, we lived in France for 4 years, why the French Revolution didn't burn the Catheedral. She said it was made of Stone.

Today, we know this is not true. Why didn't the French Revolution burn down

Notre Dame?

Notre Dame, 

built 1163 AD

French Revolution, 1789 - 1799 

630 Years Old

Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Reims 

An hour from Notre Dame, Paris suffered damage in World War I

Why didn't the French Revolution burn the ceiling of the 630-year-old Cathedral?

The Forests of 1200 AD gave up 300-year-old trees for the Notre Dame Cathedral.

WHY 

DIDN'T THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

BURN DOWN NOTRE DAME

They tried to provoke the Lord during the French Revolution. The idea was to prove God was an imp at best. So they were recreating the Baal Elijah experience.

And in the ignorance of free will, Notre Dame was smashed 

And then the French Revolutionaries put up fabric to hide the magnificent architecture and called Notre Dame the Temple of Reason.

It's possible

CS LEWIS would call this

The Old Magic

or

The Astonishing Resilience of the Church

And it helps us

calm down about a 17th century door

being repurposed in

Mary Major Basilica 

for Pope Francis' tomb.

1 Kings 18:20-40

20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.

Why

Notre Dame

was not BURNED

 this occurred when God wouldn't be provoked.

Matthew 16:18 

On This Rock

I will Build My Church

and

the gates of hell

Shall Not Prevail Against It.

Abba, Father,

Very much a work of the Lord.

When the 

Events of

Easter

coincide

We remember

John Wesley said, “The Work of God 

continues 

His workers go home”

Coinciding

John Wesley never left the Anglican Church

and The Anglican Church

never left

The Roman Catholic Church.

One God,

One Plan

As we think of the Sacrifice

of Jesus Christ

His Love

as He Forgave

We realize 

a Thousand Years 

are a Day to You.

And Give You Thanks

for

our

Salvation.

God of Light

You are in all things

You are Light of the world

Light of mankind

Light of Heaven

In all Things, You Create

You have given us Jesus Christ

Holy is

the Highest Name

Above

all others

Your Kingdom come

Your Good Will be done

we pray for more

on earth

just as it is in Heaven.

Give us This Day

Our Daily Bread.

Jesus the Living Bread.

Forgive us our Trespasses

as

we forgive those

who Trespass 

Against us.

Lead us not into temptation

Deliver us from Evil. 

For Thine

is the

Kingdom

and 

the Power

and 

the Glory.

Thank you for 

our new granddaughter

and many

answered prayers.

Amen in Jesus Christ 

John 21

Thank you, Jesus our Lord Christ

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus

Psalm 40 ~ YOU are my help and my deliverer

 

Psalm 40

I waited patiently for the Lord;

    He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

    out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

    making my steps secure.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,

    a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear,

    and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Blessed is the man who makes

    the Lord his trust,

who does not turn to the proud,

    to those who go astray after a lie!

5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

    Your wondrous deeds and Your thoughts toward us;

    none can compare with You!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

    yet they are more than can be told.

6 In sacrifice and offering You have not delighted,

    but You have given me an open ear.

Burnt offering and sin offering

    You have not required.

7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;

    in the Scroll of the Book it is written of me:

8 I delight to do Your will, O my God;

    Your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance

    in the great congregation;

behold, I have not restrained my lips,

    as you know, O Lord.

10 I have not hidden Your deliverance within my heart;

    I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;

I have not concealed Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness

    from the great congregation.

11 As for you, O Lord, You will not restrain

    Your mercy from me;

Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness will

    ever preserve me!

12 For evils have encompassed me

    beyond number;

my iniquities have overtaken me,

    and I cannot see;

they are more than the hairs of my head;

    my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!

    O Lord, make haste to help me!

14 Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether

    who seek to snatch away my life;

let those be turned back and brought to dishonor

    who delight in my hurt!

15 Let those be appalled because of their shame

    who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek You

    Rejoice and be glad in You;

may those who love Your salvation

    say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

17 As for me, I am poor and needy,

    but the Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

    do not delay, O my God!

We often think of the story of Job as unparalleled. Job wasn't formally anointed by God.  Yet Job was constantly in God's thoughts.  There are 42 Chapters in The Book of Job. 

David does parallel Job to some extent. King David's life story is included in 4  Biblical Books, in 90 Chapters of historical narrative. David authored half of the Book of Psalms.  David is discussed in 28 different Books across the Bible.

David Psalm 54

Job protests he is not a sinner. David proves he is a sinner.  God proves Job is a sinner. Yet both David and Job survive their struggles with patience. And faith, believing God will help. David is barely a groom as his troubles begin and he has no children, but as the solutions arrive, he is the father of many grown adults as his problems begin to heal.  At least 20 years, if not more. David is crowned 4 times as Israel becomes ruled by our anointed David.

God Loves Joshua and Caleb during the 40 years of the Exodus. They patiently waited in faith. Jeremiah waits faithfully. Habakkuk was patient to survive with joy and gratitude.

The Lucy Charlie Brown portion is just tiring. And really sorta boring. The unblessing isn't where we want to stay. 

To survive in life, we have to have God to rely upon when the rest of the world runs around without much need for kindness. I always thought the movies about evil, like the original with Clint Eastwood and the devils. And the Keanu Reeves movies about evil, that evil would eventually tire of evil. And circumstances change. To rely on God and His Promises seems the way to make sense of the world. The world changes; God is always steadfast Love.  The Light is always reliable to be more joy, more love, more comfort, more hope and the best way to live life. God is Light and in Him we find Strength, Intelligence and the Forever Plan. 

How would God deal with years of struggles? 

Ezekiel spoke with The Lord about Job. And included some of David's situations and ours.

Ezekiel 14:13,14

“Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, 14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God."

James 5

10 As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

We always pray

for the Mercy of God

And this will

Arrive

Daily

and

also Forever

So David, faced famine. Could David fix this famine? Famine usually means a hunger for life staples. But famine means starvation and this is on many levels. David did not fix the famine. God did. David did his part by acting as God explained to David. The instructions would not make David seem wiser to the world, but David expected God's Mercy and received. David made sure the plan of God was fulfilled. David many times jumped in as Abraham did, but still the Victory is the Lord's.

The Lord has said Ecclesiastes 3

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

And in this time, reading the Post, we have taken time to look at the overcoming of the world and the troubles Jesus said we would have. And the history of war is good and evil. The valor we want to live. The peace we wish to experience, basically, constantly.  The meaning of war is to overcome evil. Not to become evil.

We would hope our days, our history of the culture we live ... is becoming more worthy and having valor and bravery.  To meet our challenges and to become more worthy of building a future for our children and their children. Not to denigrate what has been our blessing to participate in. 

In gratitude, we thank God for the Blessings we have participated in.

In Strength, we will not fall and bring down our children and our children's children in the ease and drama of violence.  Usurping the law, which is, the very workings of peace. 

In Joy, we will live lives of Valor and Courage.

In anticipation of the Plan of God, we give mercy. Living eternity, in this moment, and the minutes of all of our days.

For every life, there is but one time and one season,

let us draw Strength from the Goodness of God and go forth. 

These are the days given to us, let us do good. 

John 21

Thank you, Jesus, our Lord Christ

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You, Jesus