Nehemiah 8:1-6, 9-12 ~ The Joy of the Lord is your strength

 

Christmas has a Huge Christian Portion and this is being a Blessing.  Giving. 

Being more Heaven on earth. 

The opposite would be Robin Williams comic act about Thanksgiving, all about not being gracious and more letting all the complaints fall down continually. God is not a god of chaos.  We see what the Holy Spirit is bringing and we gratefully contribute to the Day God has given to us.

Nehemiah 8:1-6, 9-12

8 And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate.

 And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. 

2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, 

both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand.

 And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand.

 5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. 

6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people 

said to all the people, 

“This day is holy to the Lord your God; 

do not mourn or weep.” 

For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 

10 Then he said to them, 

“Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. 

And do not be grieved, 

for 

The Joy of the Lord is your strength.” 

11 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, 

“Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” 

12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, 

because 

they had understood the Words that were declared to them.

Dwell

John 10:9

Jesus said,

"I Am the Gate.

Those who enter by Me 

find pasture

where 

they may dwell."

Heavenly Father,

Grateful today

for the help

the people of D.C.

Gave

to those

with a phone map.

VERY HELPFUL!

Blessed!

And in Jesus - This Hope.

Faith and Love - we will rise up Believing Jesus.

Amen

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You, Jesus

John 10:9 ~ Dwell

 

John 10:9

Jesus said,

"I Am the Gate.

Those who enter by Me 

find pasture

where they may dwell."

     

             

And in Jesus - This Hope.

Faith and Love - we will rise up Believing Jesus.

Amen

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You, Jesus

Luke 4:14-22 ~ Gracious words

Jesus painted by James Tissot

Luke 4:12-22

14 And Jesus returned in the Power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about Him went out through all the surrounding country. 

15 And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and He stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Him. 

He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,

because He has anointed me

to proclaim Good News to the poor.

He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and recovering of sight to the blind,

to set at Liberty those who are oppressed,

19 to proclaim 

the year of the Lord's favor.”

20 And He rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 

21 And He began to say to them, 

“Today this Scripture 

has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 

22 And all spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious Words that were coming from His Mouth.

And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?”




We have all wanted to be part of the crowd to hear Jesus speak.

We know the First Century of Rome was converted with great success by Peter and Mark, Paul and Timothy and after these Saints, Rome was continuing to convert to Jesus as people prayed with the Holy Spirit and Acts of God followed. Jesus was entirely serious when He said prayer is like getting a friend out of bed to pray. The prayers of the First Century were powerful in Jesus. And today we all know someone who has had Jesus give them a miracle.

The crowd was told by Jesus not just to arrive for the miracles. 

And we hear Peter defend Jesus by saying Peter will never leave Jesus because He has the Words of Life.

This Scripture Passage tells us Jesus has Gracious Words.

God's Promises are Gracious. Resonating deep in our eternal property - our soul.

Exodus 14:14

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 

1 Samuel 12:16

“Now then, stand still and see the great things the Lord is about to do before your eyes.” 

Isaiah 45:2

“I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and rescue you.” 

Deuteronomy 7:9

“He is a faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations.”  

Proverbs 16:3

“Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will succeed.” 

Psalm 27:13

“I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” 

All of these Promises of God come from the Old Testament. Jesus is Proclaiming His Father yesterday, today and tomorrow.

2 Corinthians 4:4

See the Light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ, 

Who is the image of God.

Jesus is Gracious.

The women who held on to the fringe of Jesus' robe was greeted as Faithful.


Matthew 11:25-27

25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father,
for such was your gracious will.

27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.



Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Micah 6 answers deep calls to deep:

6 “With what shall I come before the Lord,

and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

8 He has told you, O man, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

Abba, Father,

On Good Friday, Jesus - Scriptures tell us - did not pray eloquently and sometimes repeated Himself. We do not have to worry about strict protocol in Prayer. 

You are our Gracious Father.

We Thank You for Your Mercy and Blessings. 

Daily. 

Thank You.

Bless us with Your Peace in our cares. Bless those we Love with the same blessings. Cover us in the Name of Jesus as high as

our Nation. Help us every moment to Trust in You.

Bless the Nations of the world to trust in You 

and we will see more Heaven on earth.

And Be more Heaven on earth.

Covering all of Your Children 

pleasing You 

and 

asking in the Same Name of Jesus. Amen.

2 Peter 1:11
God will open wide the gates of heaven for you to enter into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Luke 1:78-80 ~ to give Light

 

Luke 1:78-80

Because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby 

the sunrise shall dawn upon us

to give light 

to those who sit in darkness 

and 

in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet 

into the way 

of peace.

The mystics of the 14th century explain the star was not above Jesus until Jesus was born - almost as if Jesus' own Light created the Star. The mystics go on to say that the Light in Jesus Shone in the dark explaining why Nativity scenes have a halo glow to them. I would wonder, in awe of God, if Jesus walked upon the water letting His Light Shine Forth.

The night Jesus walked on the water to be calm and serene after His cousin John the Baptist had died reminds us of Jesus praying each morning with His Father, alone to pray.

The Light of the world and mankind knew the Disciples were having difficulties in the boat in the wind. John is spoken of for preparing a path for Father God and making a path for Jesus. John the Baptist opens in the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and John.

John the Disciple said of knowing Jesus Christ, He is the exact nature of God. God of Love. God of encouragemant. And Jesus as Light of the world, is not going to pass by the Disciples in their time on earth.  He is the God of Comfort in the Holy Spirit. Jesus brings peace and His Love and comfort. Miraculously, of course. 

Abba, Father,

The safety 

of those

helping the earth 

to heal.

Let evil and practicing evil

depart 

far 

from us

and 

our children.

With Your Help

We will act justly

 and to love mercy

 and 

to walk humbly with You, our God.

Dwell in me,

Dwell in us,

Dwell in those we Love,

Help us to seek You first.

Peace and the Joy God gives us.

And we will finish well, 

in Jesus Christ. 

Please, Father,

Bless Edward with healthy retinas

without additional surgery

and our family with health

Your Will and Peace

as the little baby has colic fairly intensely.

Help us seek and find 

and bring,

become,

 more Heaven

to this earth.

Praying with Venezuela,

the 3,500 injured, 50,000 tens of thousands missing and the 1,200 fatalities.

Thank, Jesus the Lord, for the Graham Family Samaritan's Purse.

Samaritan's Purse Link

And in Jesus - This Hope.

Faith and Love - we will rise up Believing Jesus.

Amen

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You, Jesus