2 Corinthians 9:8 ~ You will Abound

 

Jesus is the Alpha and Omega. The Almighty.

I said this to our 17-year Church community one day and everyone fell over. The next week we gathered, I was asked fairly thoroughly about my wit, in great detail. It's just when you travel in the car and you write your impromptu remarks. Then, we had to discover, seriously, if, when I said, "flip-flop," if this was detrimental to the people in the group, who might wear.... flip-flops. I kid you not.

A lot of language is unspoken. And I had absolute hilarity over bringing offense to the flip-flop group of America. Do you remember the Addams Family? Click Click.  The joy of bringing joy is contagious. 

I promise not to make a corny joke about hand off or ... anything.

The conversation then became, "Don't you slam that screen door again."  My High School speech class had to reveal, to a new group of High Schoolers, the most Embarrassing moment. The winner was the teen girl who said, one Thanksgiving, her family decided to allow the 4-year-old to say the prayer. Everyone bowed their head.  "Ok, GOD, if you don't sit down right this minute, I swear, I'm going to tear your legs off and put them on backwards, and, Oh GOD, when you go around the house backwards. Then, Oh God, I will tear off the legs of your dolls, too. So Help me, God. Amen."

And we discussed what lethal device our mothers used to put the fear of God in us. Mine was a hairbrush on bare legs with summer shorts on. Yard sticks, we discussed, do snap and are only good for 2 or 3 swats. The famous board of Education applied by High School Principals. And really, I learned a few times, not to taunt my sibling because what I was caught saying was fairly reprehensible. 

Put your hand up if you want to be a Saint!

This is what happened to the Disciples. And the Prophets who spoke up to people like Herod. So, remember, Only The Good Die Young.  Did you know people who go into the Paris Catacombs sometimes never recover? 

Yet, the truth is Catherine of Siena did as many wonderful joys as St. Francis of Assisi. And this hand probably held St. Francis, warm and living hand, many, many times. She may have seen St. Francis talk to birds and rabbits. Feed and teach the lonely and ill. Comfort the afflicted. Brought Joy, Comfort and Love to many lives.

How will we convince people to get in the water with Jesus. To find Him Love?

By the time we reach 60 years old, we have seen some wonderful and God Given moments. Heard all the arguments about God and Salvation.

And some, we wish we could get in a time machine and do again. And all things are possible with God, but He gets to decide. I've seen grown, grown people not go to a deathbed, who told me if they didn't go, they might live longer.

I've seen good friends part at Assisted Living, Rehab and Nursing Homes for the same reason.

I've seen Neighbors of 35 years suddenly become friends because one Neighbor was in The Memory Loss Unit and after all these years, she might need Roses on her Birthday. 

I've seen divorce split up groups of friends after 25 years.

I have seen Houses bought recently in Dallas, to help the homeowner get to Assisted Living.

The Truth is our Priest's wife, Episcopalian of the 1970s was from Charleston. And she always said,  Margaret said, in her Charleston voice, "If peeeeople knew Bedddar, they would DO Bedddar."

I've seen my grandmother cope with her special needs son. And stayed home, nigh on to 90 years, because of his assistance.

I've seen a Priest fired for not pleasing a congregant. Who later became a Priest and said this was the biggest shame of his life.

I've seen a gay man denied morphine at the end of his life. And a Christian, not so thrilled with his choices, work, call all day long to find the more compassionate Doctor.

We don't get by without hearing, things like this: you are manipulative, you are too slow, you are too compliant, you don't speak up, you don't shut up. You are too regimented, you are too impulsive, you are Aspergers, you are smart, stupid, wise, foolish, liar, a boy without any shields. Unloved. Loving. 

No one gets through life without being told falsehoods about.

The TRUTH.

We Do Not Get By With The Help of Our Friends. We get by with the Light of Jesus Christ. We find His Love will give us the Grace to Love, to Hope, to have Daily Bread and Joy.

We are Saved By Jesus Christ.

Why aren't we better at saving the world? Because we aren't God. We just pray and wait on His Good Will.  Not everyone will Love Jesus. They love their own plan and don't want anyone getting Buenos Dos Zapotos on them.

 2 Corinthians 9:8

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

 

Salvation is a work of God. We don't open the gates of souls and we don't open the Gates of Heaven. We do the best we can not to close up the Gate, by our bad ideas, bad actions and worse examples. 

Yet, when you really look at Scriptures, this is always, yesterday, today and tomorrow, about conflict. How we will endure, pray, overcome and allow God's Grace to grow us all to His Forgiveness, His Grace and our hope to get out of the All Mighty God's Goodness, not block His Love. To point to His Goodness.

Only God saves us.

Mark 7:37 

And they were beyond measure astonished, 

saying, He hath done all things well.

No one is truly confused with Jesus the Messiah after Jesus walked Grace upon Grace.

God's Provision.

 

Philippians 4:19 19

And my God will meet all your needs 

according to the riches of His glory 

in Christ Jesus.

We can pray for those we love. We can pray for those in our lives. We can listen to their hurts and even listen to their plots. To deal with them kindly. And being a Child of God, to allow boundaries to exist to plan self-respect and polite behavior.

When God gave us all of the Pentateuch, we found this hard to do. God was trying to give us a framework to allow people and nations to find a path forward past hurt feelings and mistakes, flaws, sins, weaknesses and failures.  Why? To give a Home and a Way to put Love first.

We see failures in marriages and in relationships, then we find a space where Grace is given.

And then, in this place, we dance with certainty and Joy. A Place for Love.

John stood when others fled. John ran to the Tomb. John was eager for Jesus. Loved Jesus. Saw God as God of Love.

2 Timothy 2:19 
Nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness."


John believed Jesus as Messiah.

Interior showing the stone bed used by John in the 4 meter cave.

Early mosaic of John writing Revelation, near the entrance of the cave.

John 10:9 

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. 

They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

Entrance to the Cave of the John - who is historically recorded by local historians as living here even in the second century.



Now this is what John watched from his door.............

2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

 View from the cave - now, now, now - we know why John lived in this Cave


Was John rewarded with an easy and cush life? John lived near Timothy with Mary, Mother of God. The town had ups and downs with faith. We can't say all of John's life was easy or trouble free having seen Jesus die. John continued to be the good seed in God's good soil.

Matthew 7:15-29 

everyone who hears these words of mine 

and puts them into practice is like a wise man 

who built his house on the rock.

Abba, Father,

My laptop is broken with a Virus.

It's so difficult to work with.

I hope to take the Laptop in tomorrow

and pray for the photos not to be demolished.

All Things are In Your Hands.

In Jesus Christ is 

Our Love, Joy and Hope.

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes Bless The Lord Jesus

Yes Thank You Father

Acts 7:29-31 ~ amazed at the sight

 

Acts 7:29-31

Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 

30 “Now when forty years had passed, 

an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 

31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.

What would cause the Scriptures to suddenly record the burning bush as an angel? 

2 Peter 3:8

Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, 

that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, 

and a thousand years as one day.

Isaiah 45:12

He calls them all by name; 

Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, 

Not one of them is missing. 

Jesus began His ministry with Angels arriving to minister to him in the desert. And Announce His arrival to His Mother, Mary. And her cousin, the Priest Zechariah. 

For most of my life, I considered the arrival of angels to Old Testament and Jesus, as The New Testament didn't seem to have angels. This is incorrect, the Host of Heaven was very involved with the Ministry of Jesus, God's Only Son, Messiah. 

My cousins and I saw this angel, it would compare to a 40-story building

on Lake Texhoma in 1989.  The Angel cloud lasted for about 2 hours.

Psalm 104

3 Laying the beams of His chambers in the waters above, making the clouds His chariot, walking on the wings of the wind. 4 He makes the winds His messengers, flames of fire His servants. 5 He set the earth on its foundations, never to be moved

Edward and I, both, have been blessed to see this on Padre Island. We had no idea what we were watching. We wondered if it was men with drones to wear. Edward said the clouds were much too high to support that idea.  Many people record seeing this. The day we saw this on Padre Island, it was very sunny, but the sun was not near the cloud.

In fact, Angels are recorded 177 times in the New Testament.

Hebrews 1:7

Now about the angels He says:

 "He makes His angels winds, His servants flames of fire."

Recorded an Angel singing

Three times in the Matthew's Gospel, of 19 angelic mentions, this is a dream. 

Matthew 18:10

See that you do not despise one of these little ones. 

For I tell you that in heaven their angels 

always see the face of my Father 

who is in heaven.

Matthew 22:30

For in the resurrection 

they neither marry nor are given in marriage,

 but are like angels in heaven.

Luke 15:10

Just so, I tell you, there is joy 

before the angels of God 

over one sinner who repents

Matthew 24:31

And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, 

and they will gather his elect from the four winds, 

from one end of heaven to the other.

Matthew 28:2

And behold, there was a great earthquake, 

for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven 

and came and rolled back the stone 

and sat on it.

Matthew 28:5

But the angel said to the women, 

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

Luke 22

42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. 

Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 

43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven,

 strengthening him.

Matthew 24:36 

No One Knows That Day and Hour 

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, 

not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, 

but the Father only."

Hebrews 1

1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

5 For to which of the angels did God ever say,

“You are my Son,

    today I have begotten you”?

Or again,

“I will be to him a father,

    and he shall be to me a son”?

6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says,

“Let all God's angels worship him.”

7 Of the angels he says,

“He makes his angels winds,

    and his ministers a flame of fire.”

8 But of the Son he says,

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,

    the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has anointed you

    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

10 And,

“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

    and the heavens are the work of your hands;

11 they will perish, but you remain;

    they will all wear out like a garment,

12 like a robe you will roll them up,

    like a garment they will be changed.

But you are the same,

    and 

your years 

will have no end.”

Abba, Blessed Father,

Bringing us Jesus - to be able to see You.

Let us have more of God.

Jesus our Wonder, Joy, Love and Savior. Amen.

Abba, Father,

Jesus was suddenly walking with the Disciples on the Road to Emmaus.

 And their hearts were strangely warmed, 

they asked Jesus to stay to eat with them. 

God, You are so Good,

You want us to Rejoice

and You give Paul

explaining he has troubles too.

How we can overcome.

You do not expect us to be God.

Thank You.

We pray for help, Lord, Your mercy upon this land and 

Your people.

We pray Amazon puts back Amazon Smile,

philanthropy is needed today and this program

was wonderful. Many will feel the clip if Amazon Smile doesn't

continue. Please Lord.

Your Words are Living and Active, when we long for Your Words, 

You are there.

To Know Scripture is to Know the Power of God. For Your Glory, Father God.

We ask You, to walk with us and guide us and lead us from this time. 

Help us and encourage us to see what this season teaches us. 

With Your Spirit, we will be Brave, filled with Valor, and Diligent. 

You have taught us, when we wander away and have fallen, 

You will search for us. 

Help us in those moments to be found by Jesus, 

wonderful Jesus.

Help us to see the Blessings in each day and in finding Your Blessings, 

the day is blessed. 

The times of refreshing, more enduring. 

Meaningful Life. Abundant Life to Look Up and Find 

the benefits You daily give and load us with

. If we don't see our blessings, we cannot live our Blessings.

In Your Enduring and Prevailing Love, 

Grace and Mercy we Live.

We are Blessed to seek You First. 

Blessed to be finding the High Way of Your Heaven today. 

Blessed to ask to see more Heaven upon earth. 

Blessed to have You as our Daily Bread. 

Blessed to ask to Live Love, Joy and Peace.

Blessed to pray in expectation of Your Love and Willingness. 

Blessed to say Thank You that during Holy Week, 

we have seen the Glimpse of Your Glory 

working to heal the fullness of the earth, Yours.

 Pray for peace, please. 

Thank you for solutions.

In Jesus, we Live and ask this for those we Love. 

We pray for our own strength, 

Love and ask Jesus to cover this Nation, those who lead this Nation 

and all other nations in this fight. 

The Light of mankind to shine with Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Lord, Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yes Bless The Lord Jesus

Yes Thank You Father

Joshua 24:15 ~ As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord

 

Joshua 24:15

As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

Jesus, please.

Before World War II, it was considered to be impolite to speak of the news being so incredible, to point to a world in some fierce turmoil.

The Challenge in tough news times is to believe The Holy Spirit would be pleased for us to join together as we watch these demonstrations - to pray for God's Spirit to hold them to Him in Love. To change the atmosphere of every soul to realize what is needed is our Father God. To ask God for His Miraculous Holy Spirit.

The personal Challenge of this time is to believe your prayers are heard by Father God for Love and Encouragement of His Holy Spirit. The personal Challenge today is to believe your prayers join with others praying for the ricochet of investigations all over the political map and hollow indictments.  CNN Town Hall BOOED these charges.

For the other side of the aisle, feeling discouraged as Voters do on both sides.

For the unfortunate caught in the path. To pray for the people in a situation the voters never asked for. To pray for those caught up in all this, emotionally, and physically not to fall desperately concerned. Praying for the people who love their communities and want the scar to be healed on the land and on the people.

We will pray Love prevails and not fear.

Romans 5:8

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners,

 Christ died for us.

Jesus, please. Establish the Righteous.

We witness this news and pray for Honorable Actions to admire. We pray for the Holy Spirit to make Love live in these souls.

Ezekiel 37:5-6

This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: 

"I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. 

 I will attach tendons to you 

and make flesh come upon you 

and cover you with skin; 

I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. 

Then you will know 

that I am the Lord.’”

Jesus, please.

Our Nation to display Integrity and Calm at all levels.

Not reports of Power flexing itself.

We see cruel actions. We pray the merciful and mindful of families and children to have God's heart in Prayer. In the Highest Name of Jesus Christ.

1 John 4:10

And love consists in this:

not that we loved God, but that He loved us

and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Jesus, please.

We know many, many are praying, don't sink into despair, at the volley of news. Hope in God our Father. Hope in Jesus.

Romans 8:31

What then shall we say in response to these things? 

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Jesus, please.

When we feel discouraged, we will fight on in the Good Fight to Pray with all Expectation of God's Righteousness. Even if the number of angry people is overwhelming. God knows us all.

Isaiah 40:26

Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these?

He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name;

by the greatness of His Might

and because He is strong in power,

not one is missing.

Jesus, please.

Abba, Father God,

Help our prayers be fruitful. 

Let our conversation about joy, need, praise. 

Let it be humble, let it be uplifting. 

We ask Your mercy and forgiveness

when we all fall short of Your Glory.

Help the people crying to Your Mercy, Father.

Thank you, Father, You incline your ear whenever we call upon You. 

Heal the hurting, uplift the families and the Nation.

Send Your vast blessings. Father God, 

You are truly are as vast as the Universe itself and as gentle as a breeze. 

Speak the Word, Father God, and we know Your healing. 

Prayers for healing in health are being answered.

We pray for the work being done at our house

to be well, in patience and in kindness. Completion of the Project.

Dwell in us, Father.

Help the ones we Love to have You dwelling in them.

Help us to Seek You First.

And we will finish well in Jesus Christ.

Jesus the Light of mankind

Jesus the Light of Nations.

Jesus the Light of the world.

Jesus the Light of Heaven.

Shine, Jesus Christ, Shine.

Praise Your gift of life in Jesus. 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Yay Jesus