2 Kings 25:1-12 ~ he was captured, he was taken

The actual fired lapis colored bricks of King Nebuchadnezzar's Ishtar Gate in Babylon. The children of Israel would have been driven into the city through this gate. Now in the Berlin Museum.

2 Kings 25:1-12

- Audio Link - all of 2 Kings 25

¹ So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. He encamped outside the city and built siege works all around it. ² The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ³ By the ninth day of the fourth [the same is said in Jeremiah 52] month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. ⁴ Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled at night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the Babylonians were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah, [Jordan Valley]^c]"> ⁵ but the Babylonian army pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, ⁶ and he was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where sentence was pronounced on him. ⁷ They killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. Then they put out his eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.

⁸ On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, an official of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ⁹ He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. ¹⁰ The whole Babylonian army, under the commander of the imperial guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. ¹¹ Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile the people who remained in the city, along with the rest of the populace and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon. ¹² But the commander left behind some of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

As we sit in our safe computer chairs and read this 2,500 years later, my thought is - this sounds terrible, more than I would want to live through. To historians, this is another little nation and the regular perils of 500 B.C. during waring empires. This is the kingship Israel cried out for. When Israel allowed Judges to rule, God was their King and there weren't any fierce invasions, even though empires existed and could have invaded.

Judah was invaded 3 times - last time the king, king's families and officials were carted off to Babylon. 2 Kings 25 is the final, most grim, most brutal, 3rd invasion. Zedekiah isn't king by the usual succession. He is actually Mattaniah. The name Zedekiah was given to him by the king-maker of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Mattaniah/Zedekiah is actually the reigning king's Jehoiachin's uncle. Jehoiachin surrendered and lived comfortably in Nebuchadnezzar's palace. Nebuchadnezzar's puppet king decided to rebel, the consequences for Judah is complete enslavement.

We know Jeremiah cried out for Judah to turn to the Lord. Jeremiah's cry for reform was heard by King Josiah, but the next 3 kings (Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin & Zedekiah) and the children of Israel were deaf to the Lord, through Jeremiah.

The actual prophesy of the end of the kingdom was made by Samuel, hundreds of years before the end, before any king was anointed:

1 Samuel 8:18-35
18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."

It was Joshua who told of God's plan for Israel:

Joshua 24:15
then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.

John 14:6
Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."

Help us each day, Father. To choose Whom we will serve, guide us and lead our lives. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

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Psalm 105:23-45 ~ Egypt was glad when they departed, for dread of them had fallen upon it.

Psalm 105:23-45

23 Then Israel came to Egypt;
Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And the Lord made his people very fruitful
and made them stronger than their foes.
25 He turned their hearts to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.

26 He sent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They performed his signs among them
and miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they did not rebel against his words.
29 He turned their waters into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
32 He gave them hail for rain,
and fiery lightning bolts through their land.
33 He struck down their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
young locusts without number,
35 which devoured all the vegetation in their land
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first fruits of all their strength.

37 Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold,
and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.

39 He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40 They asked, and he brought quail,
and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42 For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.

43 So he brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with singing.
44 And he gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil,
45 that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!

When the children of the Israel leave slavery, they leave in style. In the shadow of God's glory!

Many years after Egypt, the children of God were returning from being slaves in Babylon. King Cyrus of Babylon decreed he would rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem. He would return the former slaves to freedom with gold & silver from their former masters and King Cyrus would personally account for all the return of each of the golden Temple Tools. Ezra 1:2-8.

What would it look like to have been Egyptian - to have seen the plagues - to see the former slaves leave with gold & silver given by former masters - to have seen the powerful Pharaoh brought down, who had been revered as a god? The Ipuwer Papyrus, found near the pyramids of Saqqara in Memphis, Egypt, have survived since circa 14th century B.C. (Before Christ, still). Ipuwer now resides in a museum of Leiden in the Netherlands. This particular person saw the Exodus as a failure of government to plan effectively. Interestingly, each time Pharaoh is mentioned, the name has been obliterated. Never before, this letter says, has a Pharaoh been so defeated.

What were some of the problems mentioned? 1. The Nile turned to blood 2. Reptiles began to excessively breed. 3. Hail killed all the crops in the field. 4. Later hail was mingled with fire, the fire ran upon the ground. 5. not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the fields, through all the land of Egypt. 6. the crops of the fields were destroyed in a single day. 7. All animals, their hearts weep. Cattle moan... (Exodus 9:3..Papyrus 5:5). 8. Papyrus 9:11 The land is without light. 10. The statues of the gods fell and broke in pieces. 11..He who places his brother in the ground is everywhere. (Papyrus 2:13, 4:4...Exodus 12:30).

Papyrus 4:2 Forsooth, great and small say: I wish I might die.
5:14f. Would that there might be an end of men, no conception, no birth! Oh, that the earth would cease from noise, and tumult be no more! The escaped slaves hurried across the border of the country. By day a column of smoke went before them in the sky; by night it was a pillar of fire.

Servants abandoning their subordinate status, Papyrus 3:14–4:1,6:7–8, 10:2–3.
Ipuwer Papyrus 1: “The plunderer is everywhere, and the servant takes ”

Papyrus 2: “Indeed, poor men have become wealthy.”

Papyrus 3: “Gold, silver and jewels are fastened to the necks of female slaves.”

Ipuwer Papyrus 5: “Slaves (who have now been freed) are throughout the land.”

Papyrus 10: “The king’s storehouse has now become common property.”


It seems comical, and rather endearing, humanity has not changed in all these millenniums; the writer of the Ipuwer Papyrus concludes while no other Pharoah has ever been defeated by so many disasters - it ended Pharoah's life - this could have been prevented if only the government had planned better. The writer continues by saying, a government as strong as Egypt should be better prepared & hopes these catastrophes will not be allowed to go unsupported in the future.

Not only was Egypt glad when the children of Israel departed, they hoped for better government in the future.

Father God, help us to see clearly the events of our lives as You would have them be seen. We ask You each day for the blessing of wisdom as we rely upon You. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

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Luke 9:37-44 ~ a man from the crowd

Luke 9:37-44

37 On the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a great crowd met him. 38 And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, “Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, and shatters him, and will hardly leave him. 40 And I begged your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.” 41 Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.” 42 While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 43 And all were astonished at the majesty of God.

But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.”

We all have something only God can do and it causes us to marvel. I am astonished when I fly in an airplane at night and see lights on the ground - houses - cities - and God knows each of us as a light, loves us, created us and knows us better than a first name basis - intimately.

Today, I was thinking about what Jesus said when another man from the crowd asked Jesus a question and phrased it, "Good teacher." Jesus replied, "Only One is good."

Imagine having an extremely unusual work day. So unusual, in fact, that Moses and Elijah drop in. And it.... scares your co-workers to death....they start talking about building another office for them. Your co-workers are so scared, they start mumbling really funny little ideas. At that point, are you supposed to listen to your famous visitors or take care of the co-workers who are as afraid as if they'd seen a ghost? In the middle of this amazing time, you've got a balancing act, instead of a precious memory.

Let's add another component to this really unusual day and say that you've also come to terms with a diagnosis of being terminally ill with something very painful. So, you've got a lot on your plate. After your famous visitors leave, you are trying to come down from this mountain. You've got a lot to think about, but one of your many clients, a situation your employees should be able to routinely cope with, comes in with a very serious problem with the client's son.

Wouldn't you like to tell them all to just leave you alone for a minute? Or even rage at the incompetence of these blunderers. Or even something like this gritted teeth reply, "Excuse me, I have to go take care of an important call." And that would be a mild reply.

And all were astonished at the majesty of God.

We love a God who has made time for us when He is busy..... A God who is honest enough to say, correctly, we are faithless, when He could have said many more hurtful things and stayed well within honesty. We love a God who cared when we pushed our hurting child forward....

We are never a face in the crowd to God, but sometimes we put God far away in our crowd.
We love a God who would die for us. We love a God who redeems us, at an enormous cost to Himself.

Thank You, Father God, You have time for me. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Job 19:1-22 ~ You magnify

Job 19:1-22

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 “How long will you torment me
and break me in pieces with words?
3 These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;
are you not ashamed to wrong me?
4 And even if it be true that I have erred,
my error remains with myself.
5 If indeed you magnify yourselves against me
and make my disgrace an argument against me,
6 know then that God has put me in the wrong
and closed his net about me.
7 Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered;
I call for help, but there is no justice.
8 He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,
and he has set darkness upon my paths.
9 He has stripped from me my glory
and taken the crown from my head.
10 He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,
and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.
11 He has kindled his wrath against me
and counts me as his adversary.
12 His troops come on together;
they have cast up their siege ramp [their way] against me
and encamp around my tent.

13 “He has put my brothers far from me,
and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.
14 My relatives have failed me,
my close friends have forgotten me.
15 The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;
I have become a foreigner in their eyes.
16 I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;
I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.
17 My breath is strange to my wife,
and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.
18 Even young children despise me;
when I rise they talk against me.
19 All my intimate friends abhor me,
and those whom I loved have turned against me.
20 My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,
and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
21 Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,
for the hand of God has touched me!
22 Why do you, like God, pursue me?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?

An expression used a lot that says, "Success breeds Success and Failure breeds Failure." We like it - Job can't even get the servant to answer him without begging - our talents and our faults promote us or we deserve the bad events occurring in life. All through the Bible, it doesn't say this; it says God gives us gifts. He determines who will be lifted up and who will not.

Job, like people with trouble in their lives, isn't the most sought after book in the Scriptures. It's like rain on a picnic. Really, to blame people for events in life, is like saying the showered out picnic was a judgment from God.

Well, we reason, God used Job's trouble for a purpose. Yes, He did. God uses circumstances in our lives, by faith and not by sight, we believe He shapes our lives. Job begins to see, at the end of the book, God's purpose is best because it is God's.

The book of Job has another purpose, it is our map and our guide when we have trouble. How did Job deal with all of his loss and pain?

23 “Oh that my words were written!
Oh that they were inscribed in a book!
24 Oh that with an iron pen and lead
they were engraved in the rock forever!

25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.

26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
27 whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!
28 If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!’
and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,’
29 be afraid of the sword,
for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
that you may know there is a judgment.”

Job believed in God, he had hope. Solomon, after a lifetime of judging good & evil in Israel, believed God is just as present in adversity as in blessing. Just as David prayed for the infant he was told would die, David always believed, in unfortunate times, in the goodness and mercy of a loving Father.

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Psalm 60:3-12 ~ your beloved ones may be delivered

The Salvation Army is a Christian Church, began in England in 1865, known for evangelical charitable work. It is an international Church currently working in 121 countries. Every country showing a color has benefited from the Salvation Army.

Psalm 60:3-12

3 You have made your people see hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.

4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it from the bow.[that it may be displayed because of truth ] 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: [sanctuary]
“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.” [over me, O Philistia, 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.

Yesterday we read about Ahasuerus and Esther, or Hadassah & Xerxes; their names change in order to blend into each culture. Why would God be interested in a story about the Persian Empire after the slaves returned to Israel to become free citizens and rebuild the Temple with the original Temple Tools? Hadassah and Mordecia couldn't have been very devout to remain after the remnant was allowed to return. The people who remained were the people who indoctrinated themselves very well in a polytheistic culture.

Psalm 60 seems to tell us we need help from our foes, but here God's quote is Moab, Edom, and Philistia (always at war with Israel) are as much His as Shechem and the Vale of Succoth. Both are physical locations God claims as His own, but Gilead, Manasseh, Ephraim, Judah are the descendants of Jacob/Israel. God is claiming even the areas not worshiping Jehovah as God are His. God tells us our foes may be quite different from mere stereotypical labels, but perhaps our unkindness to the people different from ourselves. God tells us what we do to the least of our brothers, we do to Him.

God promises He will valiantly trod down our foes, even when we are our own enemy.

Jesus told us why Ahasuerus was blessed. Jesus repeated why God chose to offer salvation outside of the children of Israel, and he told the people he'd been raised with, in their own synagogue:

Luke 4:18-27

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” 23 And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” 24 And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

Mark 16:15

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

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Esther 2 ~ suggested

Tomb of Xerxes - it is an interesting shape

Xerxes (Ahasuerus), the Persian King featured in the movie "300" & video games Assassin's Creed and Civilization II & III. In 484 BC, Xerxes abolished the Kingdom of Babel and took away the golden statue of Bel. The above photo is Xerxes Cuneiform: "Ahuramazda is the great god, the greatest god who created the sky and created the land and created humans Who gave prosperity to the humans Who made Xerxes king King of many kings, being the only ruler of the totality of all lands. I am Xerxes, the great king"

Esther 2 ~ (New American Bible)

1

After this, when King Ahasuerus' wrath had cooled, he thought over what Vashti had done and what had been decreed against her.

2

Then the king's personal attendants suggested: "Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king.

3

Let the king appoint commissaries in all the provinces of his realm to bring together all beautiful young virgins to the harem in the stronghold of Susa. Under the care of the royal eunuch Hegai, custodian of the women, let cosmetics be given them.

4

Then the girl who pleases the king shall reign in place of Vashti." This suggestion pleased the king, and he acted accordingly.

5

There was in the stronghold of Susa a certain Jew named Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, a Benjaminite,

6

who had been exiled from Jerusalem with the captives taken with Jeconiah, king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had deported.

7

He was foster father to Hadassah, that is, Esther, his cousin; for she had lost both father and mother. The girl was beautifully formed and lovely to behold. On the death of her father and mother, Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter.

8

When the king's order and decree had been obeyed and many maidens brought together to the stronghold of Susa under the care of Hegai, Esther also was brought in to the royal palace under the care of Hegai, custodian of the women.

9

The girl pleased him and won his favor. So he promptly furnished her with cosmetics and provisions. Then picking out seven maids for her from the royal palace, he transferred both her and her maids to the best place in the harem.

10

Esther did not reveal her nationality or family, for Mordecai had commanded her not to do so.

11

Day by day Mordecai would walk about in front of the court of the harem, to learn how Esther was faring and what was to become of her.

12

Each girl went in turn to visit King Ahasuerus after the twelve months' preparation decreed for the women. Of this period of beautifying treatment, six months were spent with oil of myrrh, and the other six months with perfumes and cosmetics.

13

Then, when the girl was to visit the king, she was allowed to take with her from the harem to the royal palace whatever she chose.

14

She would go in the evening and return in the morning to a second harem under the care of the royal eunuch Shaashgaz, custodian of the concubines. She could not return to the king unless he was pleased with her and had her summoned by name.

15

As for Esther, daughter of Abihail and adopted daughter of his nephew Mordecai, when her turn came to visit the king, she did not ask for anything but what the royal eunuch Hegai, custodian of the women, suggested. Yet she won the admiration of all who saw her.

16

Esther was led to King Ahasuerus in his palace in the tenth month, Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.

17

The king loved Esther more than all other women, and of all the virgins she won his favor and benevolence. So he placed the royal diadem on her head and made her queen in place of Vashti.

18

Then the king gave a great feast in honor of Esther to all his officials and ministers, granting a holiday to the provinces and bestowing gifts with royal bounty.

19

[To resume: From the time the virgins had been brought together, and while Mordecai was passing his time at the king's gate,

20

Esther had not revealed her family or nationality, because Mordecai had told her not to; and Esther continued to follow Mordecai's instructions, just as she had when she was being brought up by him.

21

And during the time that Mordecai spent at the king's gate, Bagathan and Thares, two of the royal eunuchs who guarded the entrance, had plotted in anger to lay hands on King Ahasuerus.

22

When the plot became known to Mordecai, he told Queen Esther, who in turn informed the king for Mordecai.

23

The matter was investigated and verified, and both of them were hanged on a gibbet. This was written in the annals for the king's use.]

This is the king portrayed in modern movies, like "300", and video war games as ruthless and wholly corrupt. The Scriptures show a lot of suggestions are made to the king all the time, but the chapter begins with Xerxes re-thinking his actions. This is a man favored with God's help, a plot against him is averted by his choice of new queen & the queen's family. One of the major Scriptural themes in this book, God does not desert the people faithful to Him, and all of His works forward His plan.

Father God, bless us each day that our words and our work may further Your plans. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Psalm 16 ~ I have no good apart from You

Psalm 16

1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”

3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.

4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.

5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.

11 You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

When the wild winds of life blow, it is good to have refuge in the Lord. The Lord is my chosen portion and cup; my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices! My flesh, not just my soul, also dwells secure.

In You, Father God, we hope and put our faith in You.

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Psalm 100 ~ give thanks to Him; bless His name

Psalm 100

1Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his; [and not we ourselves]
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

When we give thanks to Father God, it is a joyful thing to Him. God spoke the words it is more blessed to give than receive. When we give thanks with gratitude, we've actually received. We receive the ability for gratitude to guide us - to know our blessings, to exist in happiness, hope and joy.

Thank you Father, for the precious blessings you give us. Help us each day to take the time to remember the blessings in each day. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Psalm 86 ~ For great is your steadfast love

Garden by Thomas Kinkade

Psalm 86

1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.

8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
that I may walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant,
and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Because I am a human being, not a number bible searcher - I was married in 1986 - this Psalm always reminds me of marriage. Please remember I've been reading the Bible for decades and have used lots of memories to find & remember Bible verses. This Psalm is not the part of marriage created by lovely wedding planners, but regular life. Marriage, if you've been married for any amount of time you know, isn't just about the feeling between two people, but also the way two people encounter life events together. Sometimes life feels like a storm on the ocean with two people in a row boat.

The two people in this row boat have something secure to hang on to. They believe God is listening when they pray. They believe their small part in life matters. Even when that boat is a good place to be, they know life rocks the boat. They believe God is their answer. When difficulties come, they believe they will be continue to hope in God. Because He alone is God. In this life and the one to come.

May Father God, know I've received blessing in my marriage of 24 years, may He continue to hold all of the people together in marriage. Father, continue to provide Your Holy Spirit to all those in marriage. In Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

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Psalm 130 ~ my soul waits for the Lord

Psalm 130 ~ (New International Version)

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;

² O Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

³ If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?

⁴ But with you there is forgiveness;
therefore you are feared.

⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
and in his word I put my hope.

⁶ My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.

⁸ He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

Psalm 130 is a great friend of mine in the Scriptures, it is a place I long for and love to read. Psalm 51 causes me to examine my soul for the unpleasantness I have within me. Psalm 130 is the joy of being forgiven.

Just as Jesus Himself declares He has carried our sins and placed them away from us, Psalm 130 urges us to rejoice and to let Him be our full redemption.

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Nehemiah 1 ~ whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand

Nehemiah 1

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in the month of Chislev [November/December], in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital, [fortified city] 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. 5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. 8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Now I was cupbearer to the king.

This week we've looked at Psalm 116; God hears prayers willingly. The return from Babylon occurred over 3 sets of king's reigns, in other words, over time. Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes.

One improvement, then wait, then the next. Still an amazing, fantastic thing. Slaves, children of God, were returned from exile and were free people to worship their God.

The same Living God. The same willingness and joy to hear prayer, years ago and today.


Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

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2 Peter 2 ~ for if God

2 Peter 2 - link for audio, 2 Peter 2

¹But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ²Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. ³In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

⁴For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; ⁵if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men ⁸(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. ¹⁰This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; ¹¹yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. ¹²But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.

¹³They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. ¹⁴With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! ¹⁵They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. ¹⁶But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

¹⁷These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. ²⁰If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. ²¹It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. ²²Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit,"and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

It is not pleasing today, in the eyes of some, to present the whole of the Scriptures. All things can be abused. A love for a pleasing meal can become gluttony. We all know that the gift of physical, sexual love can be turned into something ugly. So is the prosperity gospel; the need to only look at Christian spiritual things that uplift us. Even God's love can be abused. Forgiveness ... for all selfish desires. It is the prosperity gospel, no cost to ourselves, our wants, "it's all good."

It's theologically interesting, today in some Christian circles, Paul is declared to be "not a disciple". Paul writes too many harsh things. Well... this is Peter. We know Peter to be a sinner, in trouble during Jesus' life and not entirely pleasing Jesus when Peter has to be asked 3 times if he loves Jesus, during Peter's forgiveness. Peter knew about sin. Peter made Paul angry of the rules of being Christian or Jew. Peter didn't live his live without squabbles.

Who else is harsh? Jude. Jude, the brother of Jesus, asks for purity. Who else demands God's ways alone and isn't soft on sin? Jesus. People gush today that only the gospels should be read. Jesus dealt with temptation, with self-righteous human beings, not by turning the other cheek. Jesus put aside His own desires and traveled God's ways. If we like the Gospels more... why is that? Jesus is the personification of His Father. But Jesus didn't travel his life only uplifting them, Jesus spoke of holiness, and it offended the religious. The people who knew and loved Jesus were not offended.



Matthew 11:6-17
" Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

As John's disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written: " 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. He who has ears, let him hear.


"To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

'We played the flute for you,
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge
and you did not mourn.'

Blessed are You Lord Jesus. Your ways are holy, let us seek and listen to You.

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Psalm 116 ~ I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice & my pleas for mercy

Psalm 116

I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9 I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

10 I believed, even when [believed, indeed] I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my alarm,
“All mankind are liars.”

12 What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

I love the Lord, and how I love this Psalm. This Psalm is about a few of my favorite things, to pray and to be heard with love. God is genuinely interested in what I have to say. In prayer conversations that matter, wouldn't it require God's attention? Of course. We are told so often to pray, it would be misleading if we believed God listens without care.

Someone very dear to me endured and suffered through a divorce from a marriage that was happy for 2 decades. Very happy. She said in a Sunday School Bible Study she wasn't so much looking forward to happiness, but calm from being tossed in the waves of abandonment, poverty, loneliness and sole parenting. Almost all of us have times of tears and stumbling.

Many years ago, a shepherd boy had these same feelings. And after he was king, he remembered and these experiences led him to have compassion for his people. The lessons of endurance while depending on God, made him great. Even when he failed, as a child of God, to be a godly king, he remembered to rely upon God again. He was held in the apple of God's eye.

I love this Psalm, I like knowing when I feel frail or lonely, God hears and provides hope for this life. God is not looking for the strong and super-hero to love. God raises us up each day. We can look forward in hope to our prayers asking God to direct us, or give us strength, or build our faith as being pleasing in His sight. In the land of the living.

Thank you, Father God, You are always our hope. Thank You asking us for prayer, because You delight in our prayers. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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Psalm 111 ~ Praise the Lord!

Psalm 111

1 Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

 2 Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. 3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.     


4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful. 5 He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. 6 He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations.      

7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy; 8 they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.     

9 He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name! 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!

Redemption in Jesus Christ. Amen.



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Matt 16:13-20 ~ my heavenly Father revealed this to you

Matthew 16:13-20 ~ (New American Bible)

13
When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
14
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16
Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
17
Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
18
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
19
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
20
Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

I was in EYC, our youth group, with my future husband, when we were teenagers. Our minister, Father Clark, did at least 6 months of bible study & each study turned out to be a lesson on Baptism. In about the 5th month, as teenagers do, we began looking at each other stonily whenever the discussion turned to Baptism. Finally, it reached the point of silence. No one wanted to say change to our really great & good-at-youth-minister for his latest interest in Baptism. Being ever the talkative one, I finally said, "Please, no more Baptism lessons!"

Father Clark stopped in mid-sentence with his hand in the air and asked did we understand what Baptism meant, I replied, "Baptism is a visible sign," and the rest of us chirped, "of an inward and invisible conviction."

And guess what? It is.... exactly that. Infant Baptism - a tender soul welcomed into the body of Christ, you are now Christ's own forever.Water poured on the head? Just like the Lord said, streams of living water. Submersion? Just as John the Baptist did to Jesus and heard the Lord say this is His Beloved Son. Age of Consent? Jesus chose to stay in His Father's House.

What does all of this say in common? The Lord was recognized throughout the Gospels by many people in many circumstances. Some came to Him at night to avoid being seen as questioning or searching. Some came to Him in strength & told Him, His word was good enough. A Baptism is valid in the same manner. We recognize an inner need for Jesus, the need for the Father brought to our souls by the Holy Spirit. Baptism is this:

Matthew 3:16
immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him

Father God, we give You thanks for the gift of Your Son. He did not draw back, but already holy, pressed forward to do Your will. We thank You for the gift of Baptism, bringing us Your Holy Spirit.

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Matthew 5:17-19 ~ to fulfill them

Matthew 5:17-19 ~ (New American Bible)

17 "Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away,not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Psalm 119:52
I remember your ancient laws, O LORD, and I find comfort in them.

Why?

Matthew 7:12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

We think of the law like the commercials on TV: the Texas Hammer Attorney hammers away at someone. Or we think of the law as the church woman on Saturday Night Live spreading negativity.

God sees His law differently. God sees His spoken word as the law. What does God speak? God speaks love. God wants His people to be blessed, to have hope, to have promise. Just like a good Father hopes for His children. God wants His children to be holy, as He is.

Mark 12:30-34

³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' ³¹The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'There is no commandment greater than these."

³²"Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

³⁴When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."




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