Malachi 3
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His Temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight
Behold, He is coming, says the Lord of Hosts.
But who can endure the day of His coming
And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.[and they will belong to the Lord in bringing their offers of righteousness]
And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.[and they will belong to the Lord in bringing their offers of righteousness]
4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages,
the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner,
and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
6 “For I the Lord do not change;
Therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.
Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.
But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.
And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts.
12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of Hosts.
13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord.
But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’
14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping His charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of Hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”
16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.
The Lord paid attention and heard them,
and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed His Name.
and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed His Name.
17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of Hosts,
in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
Do you remember the day you found out your body was mortal? I remember being 4 years old and coming home from visiting further down my street, a question to ask Daddy. And I waited for him to come home and sit in his favorite chair. I began by asking if I would die one day. He was hit for a pause. Yes, we all die. I remarked I realized that today. Another pause. A larger pause. My father asked, didn't you realize this before? I said I realized both my parents would pass on, die but today the grand realization seemed to say, 'me too.' My father added in that he didn't particularly enjoy this conversation, but if I had realized before that he and my mother would DIE, why did it take this amount of time to realize the me too aspect? I said because you and mother are old. My father had definitely shown I irritated him, but he now he laughed. And he called to my mother in the kitchen as he laughed. "Anne, Anne, come here, Anne Laurel just realized today she is going to die someday. But she Knew we would die. Because.... WE ARE OLD." And my mother looked at both of us, looked back at my dad, and they roared with laughter. Hilarity.
I didn't laugh with. I had found out I was mortal. Which led to the compassion of my parents who assured me, this was so many, many years far down the line.
25 years later, my brother and I were sitting in front of a car mechanic's garage with a view of Love Field Airport in Dallas. My brother was 22 years old. And we were not saying much, but we both had glass bottles of Sunkiss Soda. My brother remarked that he had always enjoyed this tremendously when he was very, very young. I asked how we ended up with this beverage, It as the only one in the dispenser. I asked about Coca Cola. Nope. None. We continued to sit in silence and watch airplanes in the distance. The owner of the shop, his name was Butler, he came out and said Coca Cola was too expensive. We nodded. He said he had never seen a quieter group of people. My brother explained our father died yesterday. Mr. Butler had profound, profound condolences. We were appreciative.
As Mr. Butler departed, my brother said this is the weirdest day in the world. Yes, I did agree. And said not much more. My brother said, it's like that song. I said you mean the birthday song that says,
"This is the first day of the rest of your life
This is the first day of the rest of your life
This is the first day of the rest of your life
Cause even in the dark you can still see the light
It's gonna be alright,
It's gonna be alright."
John said he didn't know that song. I said it's on the radio. What else does it say, John asked?
"It don't have a job;
don't pay your bills;
won't buy you a home in Beverly Hills.
Won't fix your life
in five easy steps.
Ain't the law of the land
or the government.
But it's all you need and...
Love will hold us together
make us a shelter to weather the storm.
And I'll be my brother's keeper
so the whole world will know that we're not alone."
My brother said, well, Dad had times of not finding a job. True. Daddy drank. But he seemed to land a few steps up each time. John asked how is this a Birthday Song? I said it just is. He said he sure didn't know it. John said, never mind, with irritation, "What I meant is, this is the rest of our life, we know Dad is dead. And that isn't going away. We always wonder as children, what will happen to them? And now he is permanently gone."
I said yes, that's why I remembered the song. "Ok, then. (growl) good song."
The memorable part to me was explaining this to prayer group. No one knew the song, which I found remarkable, like my brother. Larry didn't know the song. Why? It was published in 2012 or 14. My father died in 1993. I did say it was a Birthday Song. One time, I asked a neighbor when we got the 2nd mailbox. Years later, there was a second mailbox. Marcy asked me what I thought they did with the second mailbox after she saw this happen. Ok, well, now we have a 2nd mailbox and I did get the size of the mailbox correctly when she asked me the first time.
Do I have doubts about God?
No, not really. Why? Well, once I was at Camp Crusis at age 16 in Granbury, Texas. The Priest asked us if we had to decide if God was Who He Said He Is, would we acknowledge and believe Him. And I asked Him. And from then on, I had been blind, but now I See. LIGHT. LOVE. MERCY.
When I was 16, my mother announced one Saturday she had cancer. WHAT. We called her forever doctor, Dr. Jamison. He said he would meet my mother within the hour at his closed office. He did and he brought out her Driver's License to show she had a thyroid tumor for 2 years. Wow, she did. Why hadn't we noticed? So on Wednesday, we went with her prayer group and when to Church of the Resurrection, an Episcopalian Church in Garland, Texas. Father Ted Nelson had known us very well, even though my father chose St. Michael's and All Angels for us as a family, and he prayed for my mother for 15 minutes at the Wednesday noon Healing Service. My mother swayed back and forth. The Church of the Resurrection in the 1970s had many crutches and wheelchairs around the Church. Ted Nelson had the gift Jesus had given him for healing, later, Ted would start Christ Church in Plano, Texas. My mother swayed dangerously, We prayed for her, her prayer group and me, from the pews. Friday, two days later, we all headed out to Methodist Hospital on pill hill in Oak Cliff. Where she had gone for X-Rays at the time because sonogram hadn't happened yet. And the technician came out and was angry the orders were wrong, she had zero lump on her throat, which had been the size of a fairly large Strawberry.
No surgery. Tumor was suddenly gone. And my mother laughed with joy and said she was microwaved at the pew rail, but she thought she would faint, but no way, no way she was not going menopausal in front of the whole church! The LORD had Healed Her!
When I was 32, our favorite Great Aunt Clarice, by marriage, had been critically ill for probably longer than a year. She was 94 years old. And my mother and I would visit and pray for Clarice. But she just hung on. One night, I dreamed I was in front of Heaven's gates and wall. It later turned out to look like Capernaum's hillside. Clarice was Screaming and Screaming, she had seen Heaven and It Was All TRUE! I asked her where Jesus was. She said, behind you, right behind you, don't turn around! And I saw the walls. It was blond material. Yes, I know, Heaven is supposed to have many colored walls, maybe from the inside? And looked like the Great Wall of China, but brand new, and more tall and without patina. Clarice told me, Jesus had told her I would have terrible hip pain, but she had, and she had asked Jesus to please not let this be my fate. I have told this dream from 1995 for years and decades. Hip pain does Not run in my DNA family. And in 2018, I learned to tread water in 55'water for a year of swimming. Alaskan cold showers on full cold. To end the terrible, screaming, Sciatica, screaming hip pain. 2018. Pain free now, love treading water.
I had a dream I will never forget of visiting my father in his house in Heaven. Know. Have had dreams of my grandmothers and mother. Know. My Grandmother Anita, told me that pleasing the Lord is not difficult at all. To take the day, give gratitude, do something for the Lord and He is easily pleased in His Loving Heart. I guess we would definitely call this, Living the Dream. And His Blessings.+
How is that going for me? I would love to say John 14,15,16 and 17 were the only realities of my prayer life. But I am not the Disciple John. However, I do see prayers answered every day. The key is seeing with gratitude. And finding the day sufficient to find Thanks. Thanks seems more sincere than Thankful. Thankful seems like a permanent bend that would lead to fake shows of piety. Thanks, is the reality of being disgruntled with the answer of No. Does God answer our Prayers? Yes, He does. He does not Change. But Jesus has said, and I do believe, always pray with hope.
Lately, I have been praying and thinking about Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal.
Exodus 13:17-14:4 ~ did not depart
We, the news, our worldwide culture, have been living looking at Mount Ebal, The Mount of curses, thankfully, we all have been living in the city of Shechem, or Nablus, Israel, examining the curse of Mt Ebal and wanting the Blessing of Mount Gerizim.
Shechem is the valley between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim.
Shechem and all of Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim are 4,000 years of archaeological history, but more than that. We can find Moses and the Pentateuch are solid here. Solid fact.
Look at Shechem and remember Jesus said in the Gospels, if they do not praise me, these Rocks will Cry Out.
Nablus, the city, traces their name back to the Roman period, when it was named Flavia Neapolis by Roman emperor Vespasian in 72 AD. Biblically, this is where Jacob dug a well. In a dry land. And where Joseph asked his bones to be carried from the Exodus and is placed here. Why did the dry land find a well millenniums later? Nearby, there are abundant springs. Living Water. Blessings will flow.
Psalm 60
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah
5 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken in His Holiness:
“With exultation I will divide up
Shechem
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Shechem - Genesis 12:6
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.
7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said,
"To your offspring I will give this land."
So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Psalm 60
4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah
5 That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken in His Holiness:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7 Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
8 Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
it is He who will tread down our foes.
The reality of Christianity is Blessings. Those who confess Jesus with their mouth and believe in their heart will have His Promise. Promises.
John 4:14
Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
John 7:38
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said,
‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
We can always be grateful, profoundly, profoundly grateful to the example of the Disciples. We know far more about errant King David, but the Disciples prove in their relationship to the Children seeking Jesus, mankind, and each of us is Flawed, Weak and Sinful. All of the Disciples have a story. And eventually, they arrive. Like the Boat in John 6, more immediately, with Jesus in the boat!
The reality of life also includes this daily:
John 6:29
Jesus answered,
“This is the work of God: that you believe
[adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith]
in the One whom He has sent.”
We are called to pray. "Give us this day, our daily Bread." The call to find why today is sufficient, so we don't look like lost, or numb, sheep wandering around the grocery store. What will you bring Jesus today? Do our footsteps have goodness and mercy following us all the days of our life? We are the Easter People and Alleluia is our destination and destiny. Today we will bring more of His Kingdom to earth. Prayer, kindness, deeds. Yes, Jesus send me. Open the doors of our heart and we want to walk in the good ways You have prepared for us to live in.
Shechem doesn't have a Halo cloud by day. Yet, give us the Day!
My grandmother, Bit, had a neighbor named Virginia McMurray in Oxford on Hayes Avenue, Mississippi. Virginia's husband died earlier in life, Grandmother and Virginia worked diligently to bypass the envy of the other's blessings. Virginia, when she was 90 years old, was made the Grand Marshall of Oxford's July 4th Parade. A lifetime of doing for others. Her car was the unofficial taxi of Oxford. Really, this was more than a Parade for July 4th, the Oxford paper heralded Virginia for many of the mountain of blessings Virginia brought. I can tell you, Virginia made the best fudge and was always astonished my brother and i could finish it off in an hour. Virginia's car knew all the best places to watch July 4th Oxford Fireworks. Virginia, age 90, outlived Breast Cancer when she moved in with her daughter in Houston. Was photographed for participating in a marathon, om, very lightly, in her 92nd year. And lived past age 94. Goodness of the Lord. Virginia!
The reality of Christ is Mount Gerizim! Daily He Loadeth us with Benefits.
Abba, Father,
May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight,
Grateful today, Edward's cancelled Dr Visit
has been successful because of healing!
Through Jesus Christ,
to whom be glory forever and ever.
Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves †
Yes Bless The Lord Jesus
Yes Thank You Father
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