When Edward and I were newlyweds, we bought a 1953 cottage near White Rock Lake in Dallas. It had the fifty year old furnace, all the original porcelain in the bathrooms, the original water heater, but as we lived in dust, we eventually discovered the pier and beam foundation never hooked up the return ducts for the Air Conditioning. We lived with the basement being dragged in. ... Eventually we learned the leaf blower was the way to tackle the problem with our wood floors. Pulling out the yellow pages under the sofa, was not longer a hairy experience.
Now we have tile, and two long haired hypo-allergenic Standard Poodles. And plenty of stay-at-home-Covid time. We've found this: if we take the leaf blower and allow it to up-gear and low-gear, we can clean out under all the beds, the sofa, the refrigerator (quit making an odd noise) and live in a temporary dust storm placing the dust in one corner for vacuuming everything and dusting ceiling to floor. The vacuum cleaner is then - filled. We could nicely, politely vacuum everything, but we'd have half the dust collected by the end of our cleaning regime. Blowing the dust out is like getting the carbon out of the engine every now and then! And it's faster than wiping down the stairs.
The Scriptures take this approach to telling about lives: We find Gideon explained carefully to the messenger of God about his belief in his lack of qualifications. Jesse, Father to David, explained to Samuel, who had traveled from Shiloh to Bethlehem to find the anointed of God among his eight sons, David wasn't worth his time. David's first wife did agree, opting to remain with royal King Saul. David, criminal to Israel then ran with mercenaries known to be malcontents and killers. Living in caves and ditches.
God fully believes in getting the dust out, as He tells His Story.
David was not in high cotton, he wasn't sitting in placid fields protecting the sheep he'd known all his life. He was not in the season of lambing the sheep. He had now placed his own family in safety and was doing mercenary pirate type raids.
Taking all the tools we are given to looking Up. To finding Joy.
Psalm 34
I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3 Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, O children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
and his ears toward their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
David is a great source for living an unexpected life and finding the Strength of God. Joy.
- Those who seek the Lord, lack no good thing.
- By Blessing the Lord. We give the Lord thanks for what we can honestly give God, all our gifts are from God. We Bless God, verse 1, by giving sincere thanks. Sometimes the effort to find thanks can take half an hour. The relief is superb to find genuine thanks. Reversing anger, depression, low spirits. A new point of view can be as wonderful as an actual vacation.
- Apply All Things work, interweave, for good for those who Love the Lord and are called according to His Purpose.
- We then have to believe reverse circumstance, lousy fortune, plain angering misfortune might have a puzzle to solve. Something interesting to observe and learn. Turning life back into a journey of change with adaption away from fear.
- Believing God is really this Large. Creator of All Things. Calling all the stars by name and knowing the Names of the Heavenly Host. Capable and Worthy God.
What then shall we Fear?
Yar is the word used often regarding the Fear of the Lord. Reverence. Boasting - being part of the Plan of God. David believed God was part of all of the 22 years of wretched misfortune. David believed even Angels would help him.
God tells us He planned to give us the 'work' to believe Jesus as God. David gives us an idea of this work.
Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
Finding the Joy, Finding the Blessing instead of the complaint.
What will we do if we feel so depleted, crushed, we find the work too difficult? Life does this. Never is the doctor less appealing than when we truly feel ill. During Covid 19, people report feeling ill and wrung out with fears of doom. Many in the medical community and a recent sampling of the population believe about 14% of the population is either recovering from Covid or asymptomatic. Wrung down. Tired. One man who is totally recovered reports knowing to fight off the despair was life saving.
One of the wonders of our generation, life today: Two generations back, Israel had not existed in 2,000 years. When we casually fly in a plane and love to see the vistas, 3 generations back didn't ever see what we see easily. Aerial photos didn't exist. In my childhood, much of the Gospels were unproven historically. Vast archaeology has changed this in 30 years. Young people who watch old television programs are amazed at the understated and profound morals of old television. Yet to have lived during these generations, it was incredibly rude to ask what religious beliefs you held beyond your denomination - which wouldn't really change ever. We are people who worry about change, having lived through so much change. And yet, people today pray more than ever before.
God is Very Involved with us - today.
In the time of Jesus, there were Pharisees and Sadducees. Pharisees were very high and mighty when reaching the top of the scale. Jesus loved the humble man who prayed not feeling as if his life was so righteous God owed him anything. Jesus loved the Centurion who wouldn't have had a perfect life. Sadducees were willing to endlessly debate morality and God Himself, yet felt God was Deist and man would only become dust. Jesus is never recorded, like we did in the mid part of the last century, ask if someone was Pharisee, Sadducee or humble. Jesus asked us to Believe God and to include Him in ongoing conversational prayer. Jesus fully displayed He is a one to one Father to us. And this is Joy and Love and Expectation of God's Love and Mercies.
Abba,
You are for us Today.
The Life we lead in Jesus Christ places us on Your High Way. The hills and Highways of Heaven are our roads today in Jesus Christ.
I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining. I believe in love, even though I don't feel it. I believe in God, today, and will have the Road to Emmaus to Read Your Word.
The Road to Emmaus is On. We will do the work God has called for us.
And lift High the Name of Jesus. Believing in Your Willingness to Save the ones we Love. Redemption. Love. Joy. To find Heaven upon this earth doing Your Good Will.
Believing this Virus will end. Believing in Recovery. Believing in the goodness of the Light of Christ shining in the efforts of all Nations, all mankind to work to save one another. Believing in the number not readily broadcast of Recovered. Believing in the recorded percentage of Immunity granted in the Population. Seeing the young go out to work to make a path for the older to be safe. To see the diligence of the Nation to provide us with facts, care and honest hard work.
I believe in God's Blessings. We live them today.
In Jesus Christ, we will have Love, Joy, Strength and Peace. Amen and Amen.
- The angel of the Lord encamps around those in fear calling on God.
- Believing God is here for the long haul, He answers prayers. Michelangelo believed to pray was to change the Book of Life. Believing God alters fate to Blessing from praying.
- Remember how Large God is. Capable. Merciful.
- A man in poor spirits cries, God Hears. Jesus tells us God is so aware even sparrows are within His caring range.
- It isn't the weak who feel starved in different aspects, God says Lions feel depleted as well.
- We mustn't feel God only answers the supremely righteous. God says we are all fallen and to ask Jesus is to have been Heard. Taking Jesus into our souls, reminding God to live in us, covers us in the Name of Jesus in the Heart of our Father God.
- In Jesus we are the righteous God hears our afflictions. Afflictions is a deep word for a cry in our prayers.
- Redemption is a word of Joy. Happiness. Peace. Loved. The Lord will Redeem.
One of the wonders of our generation, life today: Two generations back, Israel had not existed in 2,000 years. When we casually fly in a plane and love to see the vistas, 3 generations back didn't ever see what we see easily. Aerial photos didn't exist. In my childhood, much of the Gospels were unproven historically. Vast archaeology has changed this in 30 years. Young people who watch old television programs are amazed at the understated and profound morals of old television. Yet to have lived during these generations, it was incredibly rude to ask what religious beliefs you held beyond your denomination - which wouldn't really change ever. We are people who worry about change, having lived through so much change. And yet, people today pray more than ever before.
God is Very Involved with us - today.
In the time of Jesus, there were Pharisees and Sadducees. Pharisees were very high and mighty when reaching the top of the scale. Jesus loved the humble man who prayed not feeling as if his life was so righteous God owed him anything. Jesus loved the Centurion who wouldn't have had a perfect life. Sadducees were willing to endlessly debate morality and God Himself, yet felt God was Deist and man would only become dust. Jesus is never recorded, like we did in the mid part of the last century, ask if someone was Pharisee, Sadducee or humble. Jesus asked us to Believe God and to include Him in ongoing conversational prayer. Jesus fully displayed He is a one to one Father to us. And this is Joy and Love and Expectation of God's Love and Mercies.
You are for us Today.
The Life we lead in Jesus Christ places us on Your High Way. The hills and Highways of Heaven are our roads today in Jesus Christ.
I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining. I believe in love, even though I don't feel it. I believe in God, today, and will have the Road to Emmaus to Read Your Word.
The Road to Emmaus is On. We will do the work God has called for us.
And lift High the Name of Jesus. Believing in Your Willingness to Save the ones we Love. Redemption. Love. Joy. To find Heaven upon this earth doing Your Good Will.
Believing this Virus will end. Believing in Recovery. Believing in the goodness of the Light of Christ shining in the efforts of all Nations, all mankind to work to save one another. Believing in the number not readily broadcast of Recovered. Believing in the recorded percentage of Immunity granted in the Population. Seeing the young go out to work to make a path for the older to be safe. To see the diligence of the Nation to provide us with facts, care and honest hard work.
I believe in God's Blessings. We live them today.
In Jesus Christ, we will have Love, Joy, Strength and Peace. Amen and Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †
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