John 1:47-51 ~ you will see greater things than these

John 1:47-51

 English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" 50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." 1 Corinthians 2:9 As it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” — Mark 14:62 "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."

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Matthew 6:25-34 ~ do not be anxious

Change

Matthew 6:25-34

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.


My husband & I traveled last week to Augusta, Georgia for the National Championship for the Professional Disc Golf Association. We were up very early and fog was coming up, with a little rain as we traveled down the rural highway to Wildwood Park. As we traveled, we notice some dead pine trees. I asked my husband if Georgia had some drought like the record drought and wildfires of our area of Houston. We noticed some yellowing in the trees. I cried out - "Oh no, they've had drought too!" Thankfully no, Georgia was experiencing the beginning of fall, the trees barely touched with red and gold.

Change - Life is a lot like being in the Mississippi River, we are pushed by tremendous forces we cannot see or control. We have eddies and resting places, we convince ourselves that now we in control. We have life in our own boundaries. But the people we love - move, they age, they change - we change. The things, the places, the people we love are not within our grasp, our vision… forever.

Change cause us to grow. Like faith.

Matthew 13:32
It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.

Rick Warren points out in the book he co-authored called "40 Days of Love" that permanent change requires changing beliefs first. "Trying to change behavior without changing beliefs is a waste of time. Say I have a boat on auto pilot headed north. If I want it to head south, I have two options: I could wrestle the steering wheel or (the better way) change the auto pilot. Change always starts in the mind. "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2). The Bible teaches clearly that the way we think affects the way we feel, and the way we feel affects the way we act."

It's difficult to achieve the peace Matthew 6 tells us we can have. Jesus summed in up in
John 14:1
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

Father God, be with us as life changes. Prepare us to do the good works You have planned for us. Help us to rely upon You in courage and in the hope Your plans always involve a working towards good. We ask in the highest name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Judges 16:1-22 ~ told me

Samson Breaking his Bands (1784), painted by John Francis Rigaud. On 10 February, 1784 Rigaud was formally elected to the Royal Society, with Samson Breaking his Bands as his diploma work. In 1795, he was appointed historical painter to Gustavus IV of Sweden and was made a member of the Royal Academy of Stockholm. Perhaps this passage is about diplomacy as well.



Judges 16:1-22

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


¹ Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her. ² The Gazites were told, "Samson has come here." And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, "Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him." ³ But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.

⁴ After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵ And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver." ⁶ So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you."

⁷ Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man." ⁸ Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. ⁹ Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

¹⁰ Then Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound." ¹¹ And he said to her, "If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man." ¹² So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

¹³ Then Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man." ¹⁴ So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.

¹⁵ And she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies." ¹⁶ And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. ¹⁷ And he told her all his heart, and said to her, "A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man."

¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up again, for he has told me all his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. ¹⁹ She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him. ²¹ And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. ²² But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Samson is a great story for the children in Sunday School but not so for adults. Prostitution, desire, holy man, bondage, an emotionally crippled prostitute, desire for intimacy and God. Why would God still be with Samson for his cavorting, or catting around, and not with him after a hair cut?

Judges is a difficult time. One that our generation would understand, with all the media and society concern on individual rights. Judges was supposed to be a time when God was Israel's Governor. The Covenant and the Exodus was supposed to bring the Children of Israel to an understanding of self-government. In the middle of this free love governmental environment - God was looking for the best of free love. God was truly waiting and hoping for each person to communicate with Him and be upright, righteous, conscientious, noble and pure.

Why was God with Samson through experiments in bondage (I am very much supposing Samson never saw the men hiding in wait for him) and not after truly revealing his inner self to a prostitute? Samson expected God to be with him in prostitution just as he expected God to be with him after attacking the men at his self-interested marriage to a foreigner.

God was honoring Samson's expectations. We could say Samson crossed the line by betraying his Nazorite appearance, yet everything we learn about God says He isn't interested in appearance but the inner person we are. During this time, God hoped to personally communicate with the Children of Israel. This must have been an inner conversation where God felt Samson had betrayed the whole Spirit of the trust God had placed in Samson. In the New Testament and Old Testament we read God takes sexual sin quite seriously, yet here there is an inner conversation we are not completely privileged to understand - the betrayal God alone could judge.

For example, I had a dear friend during my early salad days who had a chief goal, next to being a Christian, of being a completely perfect home owner and cleanliness buff. She vacuumed her furniture each day as well as the house. Each day. Her yard was perfect. You could have eaten from her bathroom tiles. And then she became a SPCA volunteer. And then she had her first first host dog -a hydrocephalus damaged Chihuahua. How my friend loved this dog. Tiny. Unbalanced with a huge head. And completely untrainable to be house broken. My friend and I went for a walk and she cried. She was torn to be able to take care of this little dog and her carpets. And grout in the tile. She told me she thought God was giving her a test - to love His messy creation or just a house. I was 23 years old and I said, she needed to put the dog in the kitchen during her work. She gave reasons she couldn't. I suggested the yard and found heat would kill the tiny dog. I mistakenly told her, God was not a lover of chaos and the dog was creating chaos. No way was the LORD giving her a lesson in grace. My friend found a Chihuahua rescue home for the dog, the rescuer would be at home all day and lots of dogs. Problem solved.

The tiny little dog died the first full day it was with Chihuahua rescue. An accident in the house. My friend was relieved. I suddenly wondered if I had been non-help. I still wonder. My friend became more interested in her home and later she and her husband divorced over home maintenance perfection. He became more perfect and she became less interested.

God communicates with us in ways that are personal. Samson knew when he had crossed the line. God gave him grace and Samson took it and created personal disaster. How can we understand God allowing sin until a Nazirite haircut. Samson knew. His God communicated with Samson.

The Good News in this story is God - God is not a Spirit of abandonment for wrong doing. God is the Spirit of forgiveness.

It is far and away an unusual story. Life offers us unusual circumstance. It is up to us to take the High Road, which can only be done in His grace.

Father God, today help me to take the High Road and dwell in Your Grace. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.




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Luke 9:51-56 ~ His face was set toward Jerusalem

Jesus Ministered to by Angels, painted by James Tissot.


Luke 9:51-56

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them [as Elijah did] ?" 55 But he turned and rebuked them [“You do not know what manner of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man came not to destroy people’s lives but to save them”] 56 And they went on to another village.


Rejection is part of life. Yet God works all things towards good.

Romans 8:28
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

There wasn't a Scripture reading yesterday, we were coming home from Augusta, Georgia. My husband is having what he would probably like to be referred to as a "big" birthday. To celebrate we went to see a client of his and he did play in the National Championship for PDGA (disc golf) at their headquarters, in the amateur division. Edward says with the talent there, he was glad not to place last! We had fun.

So excuses aside...

The passage is really about not getting the reward or recognition we hope for for our efforts for God. Even Jesus faced this. Jesus set His face to do what was right, didn't receive kindness for His good intentions, but still He was grace and truth dwelling among us. Another time Jesus, our hero, set a higher path for us.

Father God, help us each day to reach the goals You have for us. In the name of Jesus. Amen.


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Titus 2:1-10 ~ in love and in endurance

Titus 2:1-10 ~ (New International Version)


1 You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

They say a lot of life is just showing up. Endurance. How to be self-controlled, how to be good? The answer is here. Before we can pull up our boot straps and do better, we must know we cannot permanently pull up our boot straps, grit our teeth and go forward - using our own steam.

The first step is first believing our actions, our words are significant. So many times, we feel we cannot make any difference in life. When God promises us eternal blessings, like in Matthew 25, He also says our actions and words matter. We must be convinced God loves us enough, we matter. Sure we are all self-centered, but to actually matter is a much more important, earnest and sincere concept.

Notice the subject matter; Feel so encouraged in your belief your life is important to God, you are called to teach. “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” - St. Francis of Assisi. When God says we are salt, we remember salt isn't poured down throats. Instead salt is a flavoring.

This would be a passage misconstrued to say slavery is upheld by the Scriptures. This would be a mistake to assume - we will all experience situations where there isn't a change in the foreseeable future. A situation between personalities - an illness - a needed job, that isn't a career - time spent apart from a loved one - or actual slavery that exists today. This is acknowledging we are lights of God. Set forth to shine when it is dark. Believe God has a plan and we act each day knowing He holds us.

John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

1 Timothy 6:11-13a
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God


Paul's Titus letter, filled with the Holy Spirit, continues in his pastoral counsel for us today:

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

15 These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.





John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.



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Luke 9:43-45 ~ the Majesty of God

Luke 9:43-45

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

⁴³ And all were astonished at the majesty of God.

But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁴ "Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men." ⁴⁵ But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.


My first thought was what did Jesus do in Luke 9 to cause astonished at His Majesty. The answer is always choosing to live and dwell among us as grace and truth knowing what He would do for us. Each one of us. Even for the ones who do not open their heart to Him.

Thank You, Jesus, Father God, Holy Spirit - for valuing me so much, You offer me Your promises and died for my sins. Amen.

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Zechariah 10:6-10 ~ gather them in

Zechariah 10:6-10


English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


⁶ "I will strengthen the house of Judah,
and I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,
and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,
for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.
⁷Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,
and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.
Their children shall see it and be glad;
their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD.


⁸ "I will whistle for them and gather them in,
for I have redeemed them,
and they shall be as many as they were before.
⁹ Though I scattered them among the nations,
yet in far countries they shall remember me,
and with their children they shall live and return.
¹⁰ I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,
and gather them from Assyria,
and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,
till there is no room for them.


Today is my daughter Isabelle's 3rd birthday on earth and in heaven. I decided Isabelle is remembered at our house with putting out harvest decorations, she was to be a girl who always had a September or October birthday. Nothing has been more difficult during my life. Yet God is good and I dwell in hope of continued healing. Most days are happy. Some days bring some grief. Occasionally her parents remember her with tears.

And then I will see a photo of a girl in a meadow. Joy and sorrow are about equal. To think of Isaiah 49. Isabelle loves Jesus and knows the highways and hills of God's heaven. Someday we will hear her voice. Until then, we wait upon the Lord.


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Psalm 78 ~ we will not hide them from their children

Psalm 78

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
² I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
³ things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
⁴ We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.

⁵ He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
⁶ that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
⁷ so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
⁸ and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹ The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
¹⁰ They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
¹¹ They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.
¹² In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
¹³ He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
¹⁴ In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
¹⁵ He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
¹⁶ He made streams come out of the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

¹⁷ Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
¹⁸ They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
¹⁹ They spoke against God, saying,
"Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
²⁰ He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?"

²¹ Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
²² because they did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
²³ Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
²⁴ and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
²⁵ Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
²⁶ He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
²⁷ he rained meat on them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
²⁸ he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
²⁹ And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
³⁰ But before they had satisfied their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
³¹ the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed the strongest of them
and laid low the young men of Israel.

³² In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
³³ So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
³⁴ When he killed them, they sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
³⁵ They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
³⁶ But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
³⁷ Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸ Yet he, being compassionate,
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
³⁹ He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.



What do we learn from this portion of Psalm 78? We learn to trust God with our journey.


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Matthew 5:27-37 ~ you have heard

Jesus Teaches from a Ship, painted by James Tissot

Matthew 5:27-37

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


²⁷ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

³¹ "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' ³² But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³ "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' ³⁴ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.

There are many ways of looking at the Scriptures. We are so fortunate to have the Gospels with the effort Emperor Vespasian put in burning the copies he could find. The early Christian Church created the word "traitor" for the people who gave up copies of Scripture or other Christian followers under torture. Then the Church had to administer grace to the cries of heresy over forgiveness issues.

Matthew was a tax collector/thug who wanted to write to the Jews to explain Jesus as the Messiah, bringing in his friends to the grace Jesus brought to his own life. Mark is John Mark determined to be too much of a light-weight follower of Jesus to be allowed to go with Paul and his missionary worker, Barnabas. Barnabas, John Mark's cousin, believed John Mark (Colossians 4:10), or Mark, would deepen in his faith to become reliable. Mark's gospel is to reach out to the gentiles explaining to them of Jesus' faith, His Jewishness.

Luke (Colossians 4:14, Phil 1:24) is the wonderful physician called to be a worker of Jesus Christ with Paul. It is wonderful to imagine the joy Luke would have seen the healings taking place in the name of Jesus. Luke brought an accurate, thorough, historical documentation to his Savior's life.

John, the beloved disciple, was constantly astonished at the glory of God and wrote of his experiences in awe at the Love and power of God. John had given his word to Jesus not to tell of the transfiguration, and never did write of the experience, yet even his first chapter of his Gospel declares the glory of God.

Not John, Luke, Mark or Matthew would be a fan of cheap grace - living the way we want to and depending on the mercy of God at convenient intervals. The men who knew Jesus and those who encountered the Holy Spirit in the early Church really believed the reaction to God's grace is deliberate and changed behavior. We witness in the Scriptures that all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God, but all did extend themselves to please God.

The Scriptures, being real, give a very real discussion of the disciples learning how seriously their Savior, Jesus Christ, took sin.


Matthew 19:10
The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

As a child I wondered why oaths were so important to be discussed. Jesus wants us to act as the Lights of the world. He expects our yes to remain yes and our no to remain no. The Savior of the World, our Hero, said He did not come to abolish the law, but to fufill the law.

Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.


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Ecclesiastes 6 ~ whatever has come to be has already been named

Ecclesiastes 6

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

1 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: 2 a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil. 3 If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 For it comes in vanity and goes in darkness, and in darkness its name is covered. 5 Moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything, yet it finds rest rather than he. 6 Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy [see] no good—do not all go to the one place?

7 All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. 8 For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor man have who knows how to conduct himself before the living? 9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what man is, and that he is not able to dispute with one stronger than he. 11 The more words, the more vanity, and what is the advantage to man? 12 For who knows what is good for man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow? For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun?


The movies love the humanitarian belief saying man makes his own life. The Scriptures disagree, saying God has a plan and the plan is for good. Not all of life is good, but God's plans work towards good. Ecclesiastes continues this thought saying gratitude is the key of a good life.

Of all the histories, events, times of the Bible passing over millenniums - only when the nation of Judah, under Hezekiah, was saved from Assyria did the people voluntarily and with generous hearts give to God. It was a time of great goodness.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-22
Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰Do not despise prophecies, ²¹but test everything; hold fast what is good. ²²Abstain from every form of evil.

Colossians 3:15
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.


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Psalm 96 ~ declare His glory among the nations

Thorncrown Chapel Eureka Springs, Arkansas





Psalm 96

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

¹ Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
² Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
³ Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
⁴ For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above all gods.
⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
⁶ Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

⁷ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
⁸ Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts!
⁹ Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness [holy attire];
tremble before him, all the earth!

¹⁰ Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity."

¹¹ Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

¹² let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
¹³ before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.

~ Declare his glory among the nations


1 Timothy 3:16

He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.



~ Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!


Ephesians 3:14-19
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶ that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.


Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.


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1 Timothy 3:16 ~ believed on in the world

Saint Joseph with infant Jesus. Painted by Guido Reni in 1635.

Jesus Christ is celebrated, Today!

1 Timothy 3:16

He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.


When Jesus was born, angels and a great company of heavenly hosts proclaimed and rejoiced over Him. Father God used all manners and ways to proclaim His Son. Even as an infant, Jesus had danger in His life. Joseph was chosen and special in Father God’s heart. A descendant of David, Joseph would have been high on the list of available bachelors in little Nazareth. But Joseph determined to show mercy to his pregnant betrothed. Joseph had wisdom to listen to his dreams. Joseph helped Jesus to grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.


Psalm 49

1 Hear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together!
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,
8 for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
9 that he should live on forever
and never see the pit.

10 For he sees that even the wise die;
the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they called lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp will not remain;
he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me. Selah

16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again see light.
20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.





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John 3:5-8 ~ born again

John 3:5-8


5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit [Greek word means both wind and spirit]. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’

8 The wind [wind and spirit] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Our minister  gave great, inspirational, easy to understand "filling of the Holy Spirit" grace today! The followers of Jesus Christ waiting with expectation - when is the gift Jesus told us we would receive arriving? With wind and fire their expectations were Filled.

We accomplish things we never would have done with the Power of God. We experience adventure - the abundant life - Jesus Christ spoke of with the Holy Spirit.



We are baptized - we are like a gas lantern. We have that Holy Spirit within us. Gifted by asking. We are filled with the Holy Spirit - that fulfillment - that joy, that presence of God - is the power of the Holy Spirit giving us the ability to do what He has created us to do. To His Glory.

Let your lamp shine!


The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

Isaiah 6:8
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

Father God, 

Whatever our day is - good or bad, with You we always have the opportunity to look up. You are goodness, righteousness, Love and mercy. We put our hands out today to You. Let us use this day to build our lives in Your goodness. Let us have the outpourings of Your glory. When the day is sunny, we know we have the opportunity to care for others and be merciful. When the day is ugly, we know Your light in us still shines. Each day we will look to You and at the end - we will be with You in Your Paradise.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne. Your Victory is always assured. The world and all that is in it is Yours. The heavens, and all that we cannot see is, under Your authority. The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice; let the many coast-lands be glad!

Zion - we are Zion - hear and is glad, daughters of Judah rejoice! Because of Your judgments, O Lord! For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth! You are exalted! AMEN!

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Psalm 133 ~ life forevermore

Psalm 133

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

¹Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell [together] in unity!
²It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
³It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.

Today we will attend the memorial service for my brother-in-law's father. He lived 94 years, lived graciously and well. It will be a celebration of life. What greater blessing than Jesus Christ gives us - life forevermore.

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1 Kings 22 ~ the king died, and was brought to Samaria

The Kurkh Monolith of Shalmaneser III

Ahab is written of in Assyrian records of King Shalmaneser III of Assyria. In an inscription that accounts a battle known as Qarqar, between Ahab and his enemy King Shalmaneser III of Assyria, Shalmaneser records the size of Ahab's army that fought against him.

It seems rather appropriate that Assyria records Ahab.


1 Kings 22

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

1 For three years Syria and Israel continued without war. 2 But in the third year Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, "Do you know that Ramoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?" 4 And he said to Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?" And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses."

5 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Inquire first for the word of the LORD." 6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, "Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?" And they said, "Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king."

7 But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here another prophet of the LORD of whom we may inquire?" 8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so."

9 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, "Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah." 10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'With these you shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.'" 12 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, "Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king."


13 And the messenger who went to summon Micaiah said to him, "Behold, the words of the prophets with one accord are favorable to the king. Let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably." 14 But Micaiah said, "As the LORD lives, what the LORD says to me, that I will speak." 15 And when he had come to the king, the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we refrain?" And he answered him, "Go up and triumph; the LORD will give it into the hand of the king." 16 But the king said to him, "How many times shall I make you swear that you speak to me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?" 17 And he said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.'"

18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you that he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?" 19 And Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?' And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, 'I will entice him.' 22 And the LORD said to him, 'By what means?' And he said, 'I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.' 23 Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you."

24 Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, "How did the Spirit of the LORD go from me to speak to you?" 25 And Micaiah said, "Behold, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide yourself." 26 And the king of Israel said, "Seize Micaiah, and take him back to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king’s son, 27 and say, 'Thus says the king, "Put this fellow in prison and feed him meager rations of bread and water, until I come in peace."'" 28 And Micaiah said, "If you return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me." And he said, "Hear, all you peoples!"


29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle, but you wear your robes." And the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.

31 Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, "Fight with neither small nor great, but only with the king of Israel." 32 And when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is surely the king of Israel." So they turned to fight against him. And Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back from pursuing him. 34 But a certain man drew his bow at random [ in his innocence] and struck the king of Israel between the scale armor and the breastplate. Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded." 35 And the battle continued that day, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Syrians, until at evening he died. And the blood of the wound flowed into the bottom of the chariot. 36 And about sunset a cry went through the army, "Every man to his city, and every man to his country!"

37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 And they washed the chariot by the pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood, and the prostitutes washed themselves in it, according to the word of the LORD that he had spoken. 39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab and all that he did, and the ivory house that he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab slept with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.


41 Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43 He walked in all the way of Asa his father. He did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD. Yet the high places were not taken away, and the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. 44 Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.

45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he showed, and how he warred, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 46 And from the land he exterminated the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa.

47 There was no king in Edom; a deputy was king. 48 Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold, but they did not go, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion-geber. 49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants go with your servants in the ships," but Jehoshaphat was not willing. 50 And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.


51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. 52 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. 53 He served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger in every way that his father had done.


With all the names of the kings of Judah and Israel being multi-syllabled, they are a little hard to remember. Yet Jehoshaphat (who jumps only in fictitious literature) had a very successful, godly reign.

Ahab - the villain king we all consider to be the kind of king the spirits before God would delight in ruination. Not so with a loving Father God.

1 King 21
20 Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my enemy?" He answered, "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the LORD. 21 Behold, I will bring disaster upon you. I will utterly burn you up, and will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel. 22 And I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the anger to which you have provoked me, and because you have made Israel to sin. 23 And of Jezebel the LORD also said, 'The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the walls of Jezreel.' 24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat."

25 ( There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited. 26 He acted very abominably in going after idols, as the Amorites had done, whom the LORD cast out before the people of Israel.)

27 And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. 28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 "Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house."

It is very, very significant to see Ahab dashes around for many, many chapters in the 1st Book of Kings from chapter 16 to 22 doing what pleases Ahab and not Father God. God our Father wants so very much to bring Ahab to Him. If God were not a Father with steadfast love, Ahab would have been a pillar of salt in 1 Kings 16

33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him.

Father God is holy, He does fulfill His word, Ahab (just like rotten Harry the Great, Henry VIII has the dogs lick his blood up. Henry was responsible for the ruination of many churches, monasteries, theft of church money, starvation of the former clergy and starvation of the people. The church fed so many people in Henry's day starvation was the 3rd leading cause of death.)

How did all this sinful nature of Ahab's and the sincere heart of repentance interact in this man named Ahab? Ahab can tell the prophet, the one true prophet, is not being honest with him, yet he fails to act on God's advice.

Proverbs 17:20
A man of crooked heart does not discover good, and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.


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Genesis 49:29-50:14 ~ beyond the Jordan

Jacob's Body Is Taken to Canaan. Watercolor painted by James Tissot.



Genesis 49:29-50:14

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

²⁹ Then he commanded them and said to them, "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ³¹ There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— ³² the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites." ³³ When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

Genesis 50

¹ Then Joseph fell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. ² And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. ³ Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.

⁴ And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ My father made me swear, saying, 'I am about to die: in my tomb that I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.' Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return." ⁶ And Pharaoh answered, "Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear."

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, ⁸ as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the land of Goshen. ⁹ And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company.

¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, "This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians." Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim [mourning (or meadow) of Egypt]; it is beyond the Jordan.

¹² Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, ¹³ for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

A man who wrestled with God, Jacob, wanted a blessing. Jacob lived believing his son was dead & he lived a time of a great famine in the land promised to Abraham. Yet Jacob, we read in yesterday's passage, believed profoundly in the spoken words of a blessing.

Jacob went out as a great man. His funeral astonishing the people, his neighbors, he left during famine.


Proverbs 16:7
When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

What is the fruit of Jacob's life today? His tomb is the "second holiest site" for Jews (after the Temple Mount) and Christians and Muslims. All these faiths say by tradition the Cave of the Patriarchs is the burial place of three biblical couples: Abraham and Sarah; Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and Leah.

Burial of Sarah, by Gustave Dore

Hebron, Israel today. Abraham was known to live in Hebron, near the Oak of Mamre. Abraham lived in a tent, but was known to have chosen a huge tree to live beside. I rather like that. Don't you?

Excavations of tombs, made honoring and copying Abraham's tomb. Outside of Hebron.



Without a doubt Jacob/Israel was an extraordinary man. A man of tremendous faith. A portrait of family forgiveness. Jacob lived with his sons after finding they lied about Joseph's death. He blessed them at his passing. The Scriptures never record the sons asking Jacob for forgiveness.

What did Jacob see beyond this life? Beyond the temporal, beyond the Jordan? A Homecoming. Not to lie dead and useless. No. A gathering. Jacob says he is being gathered to his people. His blessings for his sons indicate he expects them to be gathered as well in Genesis 49.

When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

Exodus 3:6
And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."

Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:29 - it is important to know the Scriptures and the Power of God.

Mark 12:26-27
And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.

Jacob believed in the Word of God.

2 Timothy 3:15
You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.

In the words of Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.



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