Psalm 127 ~ Builds the House

Psalm 127

Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.


It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.


Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.


Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children[ of one's youth.


Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.


His Mercies Renew Each Day. Whew, Tomorrow has arrived again.

My Daddy had a sign in his office that said, "If you are up to your ass in alligators, it's hard to remember your objective was to drain the swamp."


Objectives are important. 
When you get to the place where I have been, where everyone annoys you because they can't reach their higher level, then what you have forgotten is this: God is the Journey and God Did move the Children of Israel across the Red Sea and the Ipuwer Document found by the Pyramids, in the Netherlands Museum, is exactly as God says He is.
And God let's people have a journey and does not fly them to the destination. (Om, that is called Passing on.)



Destination. Journey. Love the people who want to be part of your life. Real relationships. Avoid the people who want merely your money. Avoid the people who parent or friend you merely to correct you. Build the unique journey and the unique Person using the talents and gifts God had given you. And this is exactly the point of the next paragraph of my goals - where you have goals too...


My life is unique. I tell stories of real things that happen to me and it's hard to believe, yet true. I write this blog, we have 7 unique million readers. And, not unusually, people do not want to talk much about this.

Now the person I have learned a lot from is Rev. Bill Hybels. He has taken the time to examine life the way this generation is and find real meaning and not just remain in coasting phase.

Coasting. Something to think about later in the Post.

This generation has something new going on. My grandmother's life moved from no telephone, covered wagon visits to her grandmother on what we would call trails and she lived to see super highways. Super highway? She stood in front of a color television to see a man walk on the moon.

Goals. We are all on the same journey. We will pass on - Home. Scriptures say We Will See Jesus. I loved Robert Schuller, but only later in his life - he stood up and said, "I am a seeker Minister. Sure what I am teaching is Kindergarten Christianity but once you believe Jesus is Lord, you are saved." I love that. You see mankind is saved if we profess Jesus is Lord. Even if sometimes we fail. Because GOD is Love. And God created the universe.

Jesus goes where man does not.And because so much of mankind is actually not poisoning the Halloween candy and does get on the six o'clock news to say, after dire occurrence, "I Prayed and JESUS Helped me."



Now the truth is. A lot of people stop at, "Jesus is Lord."
And that is ok.


If.
You have 1 talent.

Now if you have more to give, then maybe you need more tools for a better journey.

 




Let me tell you about a few people I admire and love.

One is Cindy. She brought her husband to Jesus. Loved him and fought with him and got into marriage chemical soup and in the struggle to live - he found Jesus Christ and found he has more than one talent and wants the tools for the journey and wants to give, lift up his head and see where the winds of Jesus Christ are going to take him. So much so they fell for their grandchildren, did incredible number of babysit/love hours and raised young men for Jesus. Which turned their live together parents into Jesus lovers. This is What St. Augustine said, the leader of the early incredibly growing Church said real Christians who Love Jesus is about.

Now St. Augustine was like the brothers of Jesus, he had to have time and space to sin to fall to wonder to grow to wonder to love to see Jesus is Lord.

Now take Jan. She is an unique talented person. Bringing in her friend and her bf to Church. This is growth.




 


St. Augustine and Bill Hybels have seen and looked at this generation, which now thinks Robert Schuller "I'm pretty blessed to believe Jesus" lookingggggg-good is very passe.







What do St. Augustine and Rev Bill Hybels see changes the world?

We cannot hope to be Billy Graham, St. Peter or St. Paul. Why? The truth is the Holy Spirit completely is.
Is. All this salvation is not a credit to St. Peter, St. Paul or Billy Graham.


We are all going to Jesus and all salvation is only a credit to ... Father God.







I have been blessed to have a teenager weep buckets for an hour to see his soul open to Jesus Christ. When you truly know Jesus, your world is opened and changed.

I have been blessed to explain why a bartender, a person without parents found Church to be annoying and Scripture annoying. I could do this because Father God equipped me with a life of family alcoholics to see, alcoholics matter vastly to Jesus Christ. I could see exactly where this bartender was coming from with Jesus Christ love. And I was blessed again to see Birth. Birth of a soul seeing Jesus completely.

I was blessed to see a four year old do this too.

Now the triumph here is not me, but really is Jesus placing his dearly loved people to make the walls of earth to Heaven fall to nothing. Make the adventure, (when you don't get grumpy and rude like me) really pretty amazing.








Bill Hybels is having an amazing life. He is this large, large Church Pastor and got it allllll going on. But only when he is in the box. The pulpit. In real life, he goes to parties and soft ball games and gets on airplanes and people Do Not Want a Lecture About Jesus. And they do not come to his Church to hear him. Church goers find a Church and they come, but Bill Hybels realized that he did not bring in people to his Church.

Bill Hybels like St Augustine, like me, wondered om - am I doing my journey ok?


And Bill decided to try. And he found precious little success. He met one man and decided this one man was awesome. Awesome. And this man said, sure, just don't give me the Jesus stuff. After a year, Bill finally found a way to save the man simply by crying out at the God given moment, "I need you to go to Heaven with me and I'm dragging you to Jesus. I know that I know that I know I'm going to Heaven and it just won't be good enough to be there without you. You have to Love Jesus too. PLEASE." Changed that man's world. Love was present. Jesus grew both men in amazing ways.


St. Augustine said that if the Holy Spirit is not repeating the Book of Acts of the Apostles then God is saying that we must take our lives and the people God has given them and love them into, in God given ways to see the real and awesome and amazing Jesus. This requires one ingredient. Real Love.


Just like my friend who loved, fought, hair raising marriage chemical soup - to Find Jesus.


One of my Most Favorite People on the PLANET found Jesus and was saved and we heard him speak of his salvation as he died, because his beloved Grandmother said to him, "Find Jesus now, because seriously, to our core, I am going to Heaven and you need to love Jesus to because if you don't come to Heaven with me, how can this be Heaven. FIND JESUS." And he did.






Now why should we have Jesus?
Our lives and our adventures expand to Heaven to discover the intricacies of Scripture.
Every turn life offers is covered in a trillion different real situations of Scripture.
My phone rings, and this plays 'Pirates of the Caribbean'.  

The truth is if you are putting God first, and see life - the good and the bad - in His Hands that we are today able to expand past the walls to bringing tired days on home to Him. To help with this and the next day we are ready to "Play Ball" again. The Joy of the Lord is my Strength. And I want the people I 
love
to have that Joy, that Heaven, that Strength today. I just need to get over what mountains I think need to move and deal with what He truly gives me for today.



Thank You, Father God for the Joy You provide. When I am not a joy provider, You are.
I will trust in God and let Him be God.

Help my life to bless those I love and the people You have given me. And as You
save the world in Jesus Christ. You expand this prayer from my life, to the city, the state,
the Nation, to the Nations, Bringing the fullness of Father God the world
can rejoice in and see His Love is the Most Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Dignity,
Self Control, Encouragement, Steadfast Miracle we should all want to share in profound Paths blazing to His Glory.

In the Highest Name of Jesus. Amen.

P.S. Father God,
We Thank You for putting Your Light into mankind. Edward wallet was not to be found during the Tournament. Where people are playing from all over Texas. It was found by an unknown woman who gave that to one of the players, who looked for someone from Houston, was given to a couple, who gave us the wallet - travelers remember - and the wallet was found intact. We give You Thanks that Dee and Wayne were the only people who got to fly non-rev today to Denver. They were the only ones allowed on the flight and will be attending a family funeral.  Thank You Jesus for the Christians. Amen.

Jesus The Lord

Jesus The Lord

Jesus The Lord

Amen!