Mark 2:23-28 ~ the Son of Man is Lord

Mark 2:23-28

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 

24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 

25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Events in Life. The Hand of Blessing and the Hand of Woe.

And who tells the story.

Wow Drama. This always has very serious consequences for David.

We say, okay, sounds credible - David ate the Bread of the Presence. But the follow up of Abiathar the High Priest - Saul murdered the priests for desecration. 

Now, if you are King Saul -
That sounds reasonable - if a villain on the run from the anointed King eats the Communion Offering - then people should be slain. 

Unless you have the chance to say, these are priests and they were helping an anointed man who was hungry.

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, 
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

2 Samuel 6:6
But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. 7 And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.

Surely we know God is not usually God who punishes by death.

Psalm 30:5
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Uzzah - we just must agree was later given God's favor. And recorded for millenniums for being willing to put up his hand to help God in his intentions.

Jesus was saying time displays Saul actually became a murderer of Priests. Not the nobility of anointed King.

David was not shaken from his belief - as he ran in hunger and desperation - life was shaking him down - he was not overcome. Knowing God is for him. Twenty two years - this was a long time living in caves and ditches. A mercenary for hire.

What I do love about David is he is not a movie. Not a paper doll. He does not have one side where he looks good all over. He does not have boundless energy and never sink down and complain. David is honest, people really did not want David to have what God said was his.

David dealt with being his own worst enemy. 

These David stories are life.  And Jesus is amazing. Jesus is recalling in His life - the puzzles of what Jesus loved to say "It is Written." This isn't an easy story. Jesus is in there. Really in there.


Expectation, Hope, Faith, Rebirth,
We are Supposed to recharge. Renew. Just as Jesus was saucy to Nicodemus. We are to be reborn. Tell Him with honesty - when we feel forgotten, left behind. God wants us to have hope and faith - leading to Love.

John 3
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. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 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.”

Jesus wasn't just Baptized. When He rose from the water - God told Him -
"You are my Beloved Son."



Father God - GIVE US THE DAY!!! You are FOR us!!! In Jesus Christ. At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. You have made Your Word easy to understand. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Isaiah 45: 21-24 ~ Who told this long ago?

From Alaska 

Joy by Amanda Gore

To Texas 

Jesus Covers and Blesses us.

We have days we know to be filled with Light

And we have days we wait.

The war is on doubt.

The Battle is Won in Christ Jesus.

The war was doubt.

Isaiah 

made His ready rhythm

The people began to say

never gonna

Get the Fire

Isaiah Megaphone

And in the never gonna

Jeremiah made Prayer to Raise His Voice

Jeremiah purchasing home in the middle of Impossibility

Exiles cycle never stops

feels like it's never gonna

Ezekiel and Ezra given Strength to Raise His Voice

the Exiles let it move them and they had Joy as they Chose.

Putting God's Joy in their heart to stay.

Step into the Light by living the Joy in our Heart to Stay

Isaiah 45: 21-24

 Declare and present your case;

let them take counsel together!

Who told this long ago?

Who declared it of old?

Was it not I, the LORD?

And there is no other god besides me,

a righteous God and a Savior;

there is none besides me.

“Turn to me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth!

For I am God, and there is no other.

 By myself I have sworn;

from my mouth has gone out in righteousness

a word that shall not return:

‘To me every knee shall bow,

every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

 “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me,

are righteousness and strength."

Psalm 102:25

In the beginning You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands

Proverbs 8:23

From everlasting I was established, from the beginning, before the earth began

Genesis 49:10

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Isaiah 42:1

Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.

Isaiah 42:4

He will not grow weak or discouraged until He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.

Isaiah 49:6

He says, "It is not enough for you to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, that you may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth."

Hosea 6:3

So let us know--let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.

Micah 5:2

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come forth for Me One to be ruler over Israel, whose origins are of old, from the days of eternity.

Hebrews 7:14

For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.

Jeremiah 33:22

As the host of heaven cannot be numbered and the sands of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the offspring of David my servant

Isaiah 41:13

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; 

it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you. 

Isaiah 14:13

You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; 
above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I
 will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches"

John 1:12

But to all who did receive him, 

who believed in his name, 

he gave the right

 to become 

children of God

Abba, Holy Father

We have Joy in the Promise of Jesus:
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."

And the Joy continues in Jesus to pray with hope for those we Love.
To cherish the Blessings You provide.

Leaning on Your understanding that all things work together for Good.

Asking Father God to dwell within us, helping us to love one another earnestly.
Love is from God.

For in Christ Jesus we are all Children of God, through faith.

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, praying more Heaven on earth.

May Your work be shown to Your servants, and Your splendor to their children.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish for us the work of our hands— establish the work of our hands!

Cover us with Your Blessing and in the Name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

  

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †

Mark 14:3-9 ~ the Gospel proclaimed in the whole world

An alabaster flask found in tombs in Israel. Persian era. Museum of Israel.

Mark 14:3-9

3 And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 

4 There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? 5 For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” 

And they scolded her. 

6 But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. 

8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. 9 And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

Let's be frank.
Let's be honest.
Let's wonder together.


John's Gospel recounts an episode with many similarities. Where Jesus attended a dinner hosted by Mary, Martha and Lazarus. According to John's Gospel, the meal at Bethany happened six days before Passover. Mary anointed Jesus' feet.

Matthew and Mark report the meal as taking place two days before Passover. Martha served and Lazarus sat at the table. Matthew and John report Judas Iscariot and other disciples of Jesus were in attendance and protested the costly anointing of Jesus.

The Gospel of Luke - Simon the Leper is sometimes identified with Simon the Pharisee (see Shimon ben Gamliel), as the host of a meal during which the feet of Jesus are anointed by a penitent woman.

Efforts have been made to reconcile the events and characters, but some scholars have pointed out differences between the two events. An alternative explanation for the similarities is that the Luke 7 anointing and the anointing at Bethany happened with some of the same participants, but several years apart.

Simon the Leper is also sometimes identified as the same person as Lazarus of Bethany, or identified as his father or brother. This is because Matthew and Mark mention Simon, while John mentions Lazarus, but all four gospels assume one lodging at Bethany during the last week.






Could we answer the differences Biblically? Without a doubt - definitively.

But first a word from our sponsors. Biblical Truth Supported by Historical Documentation Available Today.

And where would we find this documentation?

Polycarp who later became Bishop of Smyrna. Polycarp wanted to record in history what John the Beloved Disciple thought of the Gospels (Truth) of Matthew, Mark and Luke. John is recorded for posterity saying: "He thought the Gospels were perfect and good."

Now if this is Biblical fact - we should be able to back this up Biblically. Yes. Perfectly. Before Matthew, Mark and Luke were read by John, John's (Truth) Gospel said this:


John 21

24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things and owe know that his testimony is true. 

25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. 



1 John 1

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 

4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.


When we look at the Life of Jesus we find Jesus finds the colt He needs.

Jesus finds the taxes He needs and Peter's as well.

Jesus finds the Upper Room.

Jesus finds the person He sails to meet 3 times in one day.

Jesus finds Zacchaeus where Jesus looks.

Jesus tells us He always is doing that particular day what God told Him to do. These are not coincidences - This is the Word of God Manifest.



Now we ask what about the similarities?

The Angel of the Lord appeared to Samson's parents.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Zachariah in The Temple.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Samuel to tell Hannah. In his Words.
The Angel of the Lord appeared to Mary.

Moses parted the Red Sea by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Joshua parted the Jordan River by the Power of the Holy Spirit.

Elijah raised a dead person by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
Elisha did many of the same Acts of the Lord God by the Power of the Holy Spirit.
These Acts of God were repeated by Jesus Christ, Manifest Word of God.

When the Disciples went to get the colt, not all of them attended. The Disciples were sometimes sent ahead. Sometimes to other villages to heal and preach the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

When John says the other Gospels are true - John is being honest. The Bible repeats and repeats and repeats and repeats. Why - so the Living Word of God causes wonder and lives where we ask Jesus to live - in our soul.



Now if we repeat this idea - we will remember it more carefully. Study guides say state one sentence three different ways and our memory is set. Father God has the meeting of this woman blessing Jesus and the men wonder. We see - no matter - how - many years Jesus healed the blind, the leper, the deaf, the lame and the poor have Good News - we will always be the Children of Israel wondering if God is going to drop us on our head. Today. Is God God today?

And like Sam eating green eggs and ham - Father God said see we will probably remember this if God repeats this and all the Disciples see a version of this as important.

2 Timothy 3

16 All Scripture
is God-breathed
and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.


The Gospel of Jesus Christ is True. All the Disciples carefully considered their words. Gospel is Truth.


2 Peter 1:20-21

20 Above all,
you must understand that
no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things.

21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.


God explains the Gospel is Gospel.



Romans 4

20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God,
but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,

21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”

23 But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone,
24 but for ours also. 
It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord,
25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Father God, Abba,

I wonder if Simon the Leper was one of the ten lepers healed. Lepers lived outside the village, not in homes giving dinner parties. I wonder if Simon, who was uppity, was one of the nine who did not give thanks. I wonder if Simon was the one who gave thanks and then acted like the Children of Israel in the desert - is Jesus Real.

And we believe the Word of God is true and Your Promises will answer these wonders some day.

We believe the Gospels are true. We believe Papyrus 46, owned by the University of Michigan, tells us the complete New Testament was written while the Temple was in operation before 70 A.D. -  not in 400 A.D.

We believe the Dead Sea Scrolls are a Gift of God giving us Historical Fact - the first intact Bible of 700 A.D. is the same as the Bible before Jesus was born. The Word of God is carefully, carefully copied by the Men of God All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.

We pray for our loved ones and the people God has given us to have more Heaven on earth and more good works to walk in.

We pray for all Christians, our Nation, all Nations Trusting God.

And ask His Blessing on our prayer requests and to cover us in the Name of Jesus.

Amen in Jesus we pray. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †

Galatians 5:22-26 ~ Keep in step with the Spirit

Galatians 5

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

When we cook something new, we pay attention to the recipe. We are careful with the directions. And the next few times, we rely on what we did, recalling the recipe. Mistakes are more likely when we know what is what and rely on newbie knowledge.

Our journeys in life are like this. We spent time in Alaska meeting newbie Alaskans, under ten year resident Alaskans and long, long time Alaskans. Newbies are filled with enthusiasm for new experiences. The sparkle is there as eyes survey the beautiful views. The Middle Journey is filled with experience of Alaskan winter, rain, snow, being indoors and life. The need to travel mostly by water or expensive airplane journeys. And then the enthusiasm of long, long time Alaskans.

The views of the people who have lived the situations, the boredom, the communities and the problems and solutions. Tell us all something to learn and appreciate. What the long term Alaskans have found is Love and Joy and Steadfast Goodness.

How do we know this is true. The number of people who have returned to the Rain Forest and have loved the harshness of the physical environment to create communities drawing people to return and the next generation to go forth and return to have families.

We were in Hoonah, Alaska and found ourselves in a line of 3 cars through the commercial environment carefully placed to keep this active, clean and separate from Nature and from residential places. The Dock is new and set apart from the town - creating a place for the Dock to enjoy nature and make the commercial stand out to blend within pristine with pristine Creation of God.

And what we found is 3 cars is a traffic ham in Hoonah, Alaska. Having a population boom last month when 3 children are born and the population is now 763. And our guide is related to Hoonah by marriage and by blood. Be sure to wave, it's family! Our Guide in his 60s is the best representation of his island, his tribe, his family (pointing to his father's job that day) and what has drawn his journey to be long and full.

Joe remembers well when the community decided to put in a zipline just because one man in their community saw a zipline company in Utah on You Tube. Within a year. The idea was weighed and voted. No one counted on 14 feet of snow in Hoonah and 50 feet of snow on the mountain. The project costs doubled to hire local work to move the 50 feet of snow out of the way for the equipment moved to the island by contract. All the work and careful consideration were being snowed into looking very unprofitable. It was a time of disappointment. The project was now shrouded in disapproval. April came and snows cleared. All of the island came to see the completed project. Clear  the views - higher than the Empire State Building. Being called to rise up and see and experience life in a new direction. All the island could see what was done and experience this together. Approval went to 100%.

Joe dealt with the facts. He didn't sugar coat the experience.

What I saw - Joe was appreciative of the process. Every day. Appreciate one person had a dream. Participate in the fact gathering. Preparing in expectation to be a voice to be heard. Loving himself enough to deal wisely with the pull and push of the wild winds and pressures in life. The determination to be present in a community situation of opinions. To be part of the decision made by all. Working hard in unbelievable conditions of 50 feet of snow, helicopters, cables and people doing work they were not totally trained to do while working with the Utah professionals. The town was angry - both the new jobs and the extra expense. Opinions went very strong. To endure and be present for the presentation. And then - in the years to come, the forgiveness of words spoken. The appreciation of human capacity in God to forgive and enjoy.

"There is Donna - wave, she's my cousin!" And of course, Joe is related to everyone on the 1,300 mile island.

Abba,

We open hands and hearts to pray Your Word.

Father God, we smile to remember Acts 20 Eutychus (You teach us) fell out of the window when Paul was too long winded. So we will keep this prayer short.


Ephesians 6
Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord,
will tell you everything, 
so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. 22 I am sending him to you for this very purpose,
that you may know how we are,
and that he may encourage you.

23 Peace to the brothers and sisters,
and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

24 Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

The Blessing of Jesus and His Steadfast Love.
Amen Jesus Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †

Matthew 20:29-34 ~ Lord, have mercy

Painting by James Tissot - Waiting For Jesus

Matthew 20:29-34

And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30 And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" 

31 The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" 

32 And stopping, Jesus called them and said, "What do you want me to do for you?"

33 They said to him, "Lord, let our eyes be opened."

 34 And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.


Christians love to say following Jesus isn't religion - it's relationship. You have to love this passage - it is what people are today. God in a neat little Tupperware box labelled "What I Think God is Capable of." The label continues with ..... " And I am Right."

I know this is true because we All have this in our lives. It shows up the most when someone goes out of their way to ask us to pray for them. And it diminishes when we truly care for that person and want the best for them.

Why is the crowd out there waiting for Jesus. If you lived during the days of the LORD, wouldn't you have gone to see Him? The Sanhedrin Council records still exist of the Pharisees and Sadducees leaving official gossip about Jesus and his mother. And Joseph. Jesus created a Whole Lot of Speculation.

The crowd wants these men to Shut Up. Why? Remember the Scriptures telling us about the 4 men willing to rip the roof off of Jesus' home in Capernaum? They wanted their paralyzed friend to have the possibility of Jesus. The crowd is looking for dazzling Jesus to entertain them.

Instead Jesus gives them " I am not a religion - I am a relationship." Religion is an image. Jesus ignored the fans and, in relationship, asked these men for conversation. Plainly, Jesus could see. He knew they were blind. He wanted to talk to them. He wanted them to give Him their desires, their prayers.

Isaiah - his response to GOD, The Almighty - was to proclaim "I am a man of unclean lips!" Peter...

Luke 5:8
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

How do the three blind men react? "We Wanna See!!!!" No. "Lord, let our eyes be opened." Milk Toast. Namby Pamby. Weak Willie. Wow. Very careful prayer. They even might have added "Thy Will Be Done." This way, Jesus might think they are happy with deeper wisdom. And they wouldn't be so noticed in the crowd.

Maybe they said it very earnestly.

Jesus doesn't look down from His Higher Authority in Judgement. Jesus is moved. He reaches out to touch them back. And lives are changed.

Jesus. Grace and truth. Choosing to dwell with us. Today.


Because the news is dire. Because situations are out of our control. We can be sure prayer is a good and needed aspect in our lives. When the Assyrian Empire threatened Judah, the people diligently prayed and God answered in a mighty way. Every 500 years, Father God's Holy Spirit does something amazing. We are in this time frame today and prayer is a very good thing.

We can't point personally to all of the good of our lives. We cannot point to our leadership and the economic instability of 30 or even 60 years to own a house and have what the Amish would consider to be entirely ridiculous. But we can always ask Him in Father God's goodness for His help and mercy. God has 12 open Heaven gates and an open policy on prayer.

Father God, even on Thanksgiving, our best prayer to you is, "Thanks." with gratitude and "Help Lord Jesus" when we need that help.

Please bless the two people who asked me for prayer for the desire of their heart, they are very worthy like Cornelius.

Bless our Nation, we need Your help, earnestly. Bless the families who gather to give thanks and have prayer. We have an excellent idea, You will. Thank You, Father, when You see faithful souls through out the Nation, who look to You. In Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †