†
Mark 2:23-28
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.
So the Son of Man
is
Lord
even of the Sabbath.”
Need, faith, visible and invisible our thoughts on God
In yesterday's Post, we discussed the Virgin Birth was a 70s hot topic, with many believeth in the Virgin Birth without a lot of discussion. And today Sermons and many will say December 25th is part of the calendar changes and not part of Jesus' real birthday. And to this I'd like to say:
God is God
God is Love
and
Christmas is Loved
mostly!
I Love Christmas
and
we all put up with the
work
the frustrations
the fullness
and emptiness.
This is the work
of
working
Relationship.
1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
The demons know God is God and He as Lord God Almighty can certainly produce December 25th as the Birth of Christ Celebrated. And shudder.
Why not boldly say December 25th is entirely possible as the Work of God. Ok, let's.
Here is one of my favorite and true salvation stories.
A woman, who was divorced early in life with 2 sons to raise, did so in rural Canada. She was an RN, and being in rural areas, the pay was not great, but good to have her home and her elderly car. One of the challenges in her late 50s, living alone and driving an hour to different hospitals in the dark of morning or evening. An hour of driving, going to rural snow areas of Canada where an RN is needed.
One winter night, she was doing something atypical: listening to the Christian radio station. Because this was on her mind lately. Rural Canada is like the UK, the pub is a place of warmth and camaraderie. And the pub always pokes gently or loudly at Christians. Which is generally a little funny, but the pub crowd considers Christians to look down on the pub crowd. And yet, for this woman, she had spent her life as a pub goer but this had begun to conflict some with her career as a healer and RN. She had always felt that God existed in the vast areas of the world and the universe. A Light on.
And so, in this idea, she had flipped the Christian radio station on. For the first time in decades. And was listening. The weather came on and she had missed the fact this was going to be a serious snowstorm with lower than normal temperatures. And just as she thought about her reliable old car, the car made a noise certain to cause large discomfort. No one would know if she was alone and stranded this night. And never had a cold night seemed more perilous.
And an idea came to her mind and frightened person, like a Light in a very dark night. The idea that in the next almost sure to be closed tiny, little Canadian rural town with only a handful of houses, someone would be waiting for her in front of the closed convenience store and gas station. She knew it had a streetlight, but also knew the chance of someone standing in the dark, stormy night was about to be nil. But suddenly prayer, like a foxhole prayer, burst from her that she really was in trouble and this was a miracle she needed. And as the prayer ended, her car noise made her understand that a miracle was needed for survival. Cell phones in rural Northern Canada areas are mostly cell phone capacity zero. And now she wept. And remembered, you are supposed to BELIEVE when you ask in Prayer. And thought about her Pub life. And knew she was never going to be good enough for God and felt now, not just panic, but sorrow.
She saw the streetlight of the store and gas station that usually was closed as she drove by early mornings or late nights. And a man was standing where her idea had told her. Her car rolled to a halt. And she got out. Then, blurted out a question, "Are you an angel?" The younger man looked at her and said he had never been asked that before, but certainly not. He said he heard the car engine stop, and she obviously was not trying to pick him up but was in fact having serious car trouble. And she agreed, with some tears, she was in some serious weather and car trouble.
The man said, you are in luck. My car made that noise last week, and it was an easy fix, just buy the plug-in part. And he stared at her. And said, "I accidentally bought the wrong model part. And I was going to return it, but it is now in my car." And he reached into his car and brought out a tube connecting the air filter box to the engine's throttle body. They both examined the part and found it would not be returned but used in her elderly car. And the man said it was a very odd coincidence it would work.
At that point, the RN blurted out again about the pub, faith, her career, the Light of an idea, the prayer and the woeful aftermath prayer. The part easily snapped into her car. And the man said her faith was the backdoor, backbone wish of rural Canada. And he felt the same way. And her woeful prayer, afterward, was called contrition. Something his brushes with the Baptist Church taught him are wholly acceptable and even pleasing to God the Almighty.
They shared silence. And the man said, it's too much of a coincidence for your 20 or 30 year old car to have a man waiting in the streetlight of a closed store with the right part. In a snowstorm. In a town with maybe 15 houses. And they both agreed they have lived an honest-to-God miracle.
The RN asked, why are you standing here? The man replied, he lived alone and liked to get out and drive in the evening, and in the light of the store, it was the place he usually got out and bought something he needed. By habit, he had gotten out and decided to watch the heavy, quiet snow pouring down.
And he asked her if her faith had changed. And the woman answered her faith had been a pushed-aside faith, a battered faith, a neglected faith and a mocked faith. But today, the Voice and Grace of God had revealed that God is a God of Love. And Jesus Christ has risen from the dead, fully God and fully Capable. Yes, God had changed her wonder to faith.
The man added, you have witnessed immediately to a man who is a doubter in the middle of an honest-to-God miracle. To find another soul who had found God is Fully Capable to Bring Forth All His Promises.
They agreed it was a great way to have a life filled with Faith. Jesus Christ is God.
God is Fully Capable as God.
All of our prayers for the ones we love. My grandmother Anita prayed for her son, Jimmy, the policeman brought her at age 2. Beaten badly by a failed adoption. To become Anita's son for the next 76 years. Saved by Jesus at age 72. Saved. And Oh, God and all His fishes, my uncle was a great, tremendous lot of work. Those prayers bounced off the proverbial ceiling for 70 years. Fully and God-capably answered when Anita had been in Heaven for a decade.
God is Fully Capable and is God.
Our Father, God
Please Bless and Heal
National Guardsman
Andy Wolf
His faithful family calling for
our National Prayers.
Forget not all His benefits -
Who forgives all your sins
and
heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you
with love and compassion
Letting our
Dependable Past Blessings
Restore us again
today
Stronger and Loving
Wise
and Capable.
Bless those, Father,
who have Blessed us.
In Heaven or earth.
With Your Help
We will act justly
to love mercy
and
to walk humbly with You, our God.
In Only Your Mercy and Grace,
Jesus Christ gives us Salvation.
Dwell in me,
Dwell in us,
Dwell in those we Love,
Help us to seek You first.
And we will finish well,
in Jesus Christ.
And the Nations of the world,
Your Good Creation,
Calling upon You.
Lord Jesus Christ,
Bless those working for
Post Pandemic Healing
and Care.
The healing and safety of Your people.
Blessings for those
helping the earth
to heal.
Let evil and practicing evil
depart far from us
and our children.
Worldwide
Peace and Prosperity!
For Children in their Schools,
all safety.
For those who protect and defend the USA
The National Guard especially during our Holidays.
Keep our food supply safe.
Those who protect
and defend
All The Word of God.
Freedom in our Churches.
Wholeness
Holy.
Goodness.
Thy Kingdom come
Thy will be done
on earth
as it is
in Heaven.
And the June birth
of our
first Grandchild.
Jesus Christ, please,
Your blessings of
Health, Peace,
Wisdom
and Prosperity
for His Glory!
And for Edward's eyes
and
his surgery on them to go
very, very well.
An upcoming
Family Funeral
to please those in
Heaven.
And in Jesus - this Hope,
Faith and Love - we will rise up believing Jesus.
Amen.
♔ Lord Jesus Saves †
