Genesis 47 ~ said Joseph

Sistine Chapel ~ Jacob and Joseph by Michelangelo Buonarroti. Painted 3,000 years after they lived on earth.

God's blessings are never finished. From 1508 to 1541, Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned by Pope Julius II to repaint over the blue sky and gold stars of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo was extremely unhappy about the commission, the size of the project & it was paint instead of his preferred marble sculpturing; the Pope allowed Michelangelo to choose his own biblical scenes to appease Michelangelo - he didn't want to paint the Pope's idea of the 12 Apostles.


Genesis 47 ~ (New International Version) Audio Link

¹ Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen." ² He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

³ Pharaoh asked the brothers, "What is your occupation?"
"Your servants are shepherds," they replied to Pharaoh, "just as our fathers were." ⁴ They also said to him, "We have come to live here awhile, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants' flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen."

⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you, ⁶ and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock."

⁷ Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed Pharaoh, ⁸ Pharaoh asked him, "How old are you?"

⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers." ¹⁰ Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

¹¹ So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. ¹² Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their children.

¹³ There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. ¹⁴ Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh's palace. ¹⁵ When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, "Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is used up."

¹⁶ "Then bring your livestock," said Joseph. "I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone." ¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸ When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, "We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹ Why should we perish before your eyes—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate."

²⁰ So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh's, ²¹ and Joseph reduced the people to servitude, from one end of Egypt to the other. ²² However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

²³ Joseph said to the people, "Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. ²⁴ But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children."

²⁵ "You have saved our lives," they said. "May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh."

²⁶ So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh's.

²⁷ Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.

²⁸ Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. ²⁹ When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried."
"I will do as you say," he said.

³¹ "Swear to me," he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

No wonder Pharaoh did well. Jacob/ Israel received God's amazing blessing for Abraham & then Jacob / Israel gave Pharaoh a blessing.

Genesis 49 is a blessing we can all appreciate. Joseph did not let selfish ambition and bitterness take away his ability to be a blessing:
22 Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.

23 With bitterness archers attacked him;
they shot at him with hostility.

24 But his bow remained steady,
his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,

25 because of your father's God, who helps you,
because of the Almighty, who blesses you
with blessings of the heavens above,
blessings of the deep that lies below,
blessings of the breast and womb.

26 Your father's blessings are greater
than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
than the bounty of the age-old hills.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.

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John 8:1-11 ~ Neither do I condemn you

Jesus with the Woman Caught in Adultery, by Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov Russian: Поленов Василий Дмитриевич; 1 June 1844 - 18 July 1927

John 8:1-11 (Revised Standard Version written, English Standard Version audio)

[1] but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

[2] Early in the morning he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

[3] The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst

[4] they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.

[5] Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?"

[6] This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

[7] And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

[8] And once more he bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

[9] But when they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the eldest, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

[10] Jesus looked up and said to her,"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

[11] She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again."

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Psalm 90 ~ satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love

Psalm 90

1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place [refuge]
in all generations.in all generations.2 Before the mountains were brought forth,or ever you had formed the earth and the world,from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

3 You return man to dustand say, “Return, O children of man!” [children of Adam]
4 For a thousand years in your sightare but as yesterday when it is past,or as a watch in the night.

5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,like grass that is renewed in the morning:6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;in the evening it fades and withers.

7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;by your wrath we are dismayed.8 You have set our iniquities before you,our secret sins in the light of your presence.

9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;we bring our years to an end like a sigh.10 The years of our life are seventy,or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span [pride] is but toil and trouble;they are soon gone, and we fly away.11 Who considers the power of your anger,and your wrath according to the fear of you?

12 So teach us to number our daysthat we may get a heart of wisdom.13 Return, O Lord! How long?Have pity on your servants!14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,and for as many years as we have seen evil.16 Let your work be shown to your servants,and your glorious power to their children.17 Let the favor [beauty]of the Lord our God be upon us,and establish the work of our hands upon us;yes, establish the work of our hands!

- Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 

We are invited, always, to pray - in supplication - to our Father when life gives us "opportunities for solutions". Paul had such faith he looked beyond the point causing discomfort to see how Father God would inter-weave it for good. Paul wanted to see what glory God would bring from weakness.
In difficulties, Paul would rejoice.

2 Corinthians 12:9
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I give great thanks to a Literature Professor at Texas A&M. She gave me a life skill tool, useful 2 decades later and today. Instead of repeating a mistake, I look for a permanent solution deliberately. I had problems doing alter guild. And my sister-in- Christ Cindy stepped along side me and partnered with me.  Later, Cindy would go with Edward and me to see Judith MacNutt for Valentines weekend in 2015, where she, Justine, Donna and Steve would stay all weekend to worship and pray with Edward and me, and for Edward's health.


God provides a Professor who gave a good life skill. God provides a solution. God provides a kind sisters and brothers in Christ. God rules in an orderly fashion and gives us smooth worship. Just as Jesus sent 70 disciples out in pairs of two. Thank you, Father God, for our Church family & Your steadfast Love. In Jesus' name. Amen.


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Psalm 42 ~ my soul thirsteth for God

Psalm 42 ~ (American Standard Version )

1-3 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, So panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

4 These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me, How I went with the throng, and led them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping holyday.

5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him For the help of his countenance.

6-8 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: Therefore do I remember thee from the land of the Jordan, And the Hermons, from the hill Mizar. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterfalls: All thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.

Yet Jehovah will command his lovingkindness in the day-time; And in the night his song shall be with me, Even a prayer unto the God of my life.

9-10 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? As with a sword in my bones, mine adversaries reproach me, While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

Tears are the subject today. We all have them. I've heard friends say they don't want to go to church after a trauma, even problem, because they will cry in church. And I have to say, a good cry is wonderful. I have cried a lot after my daughter Isabelle died & it was a great relief to sit down and have a good cry - almost as good as a relief/reset button. Yet, it is not relieving, or even wanted, sometimes, to cry in public. Almost everyone who has attended church has cried.

It is important to say what is experienced from unwanted emotional tears in church. When someone trustworthy asks, it is a shared bond. Those unwanted tears build up the body of Christ in compassion. It is not helpful to someone, especially after the loss of a child, to ask what is wrong. Obviously, a widow cries for a husband, a parent cries for a child. It is unhelpful to ask about a death at a party or social event. It is not wanted to receive an apology for missing the event, publicly. Sometimes the best response is merely to pat or rub someone's back. Compassion does not need to be verbal. Prayers do not need to be said out loud, our Father hears.

If you have experienced sadness & tears at church, it is Okay. Really. God honors the courage to cry in public. And there is more of it going on than you may have noticed. If you have ever put your whole body on the floor and cried to the Lord, don't you think, like I do, our Father, lovingly understands crying at the foot of the cross is the same as sniffing in public in church.

Many people have experienced overwhelming joy in church, as well. The awesome love of God sometimes gives us tears of joy, only the child of God understands at the moment!

Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.

Luke 12:32
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

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Psalm 95 ~ let us sing to the Lord

Psalm 95, Sung by Sons of Korah, Choreography by Shanorio

Psalm 95

1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today, if you hear his voice,
8 do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers put me to the test
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they have not known my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter my rest.”

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Deuteronomy 33 ~ so shall your strength be

Deuteronomy 33

English Standard Version, Max McLean Audio Bible


This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. 2 He said,

“The Lord came from Sinai
and dawned from Seir upon us;
he shone forth from Mount Paran;
he came from the ten thousands of holy ones,
with flaming fire at his right hand.
3 Yes, he loved his people,
all his holy ones were in his hand;
so they followed in your steps,
receiving direction from you,
4 when Moses commanded us a law,
as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5 Thus the Lord became king in Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people were gathered,
all the tribes of Israel together.

6 “Let Reuben live, and not die,
but let his men be few.”

7 And this he said of Judah:

“Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah,
and bring him in to his people.
With your hands contend for him,
and be a help against his adversaries.”

8 And of Levi he said,

“Give to Levi your Thummim,
and your Urim to your godly one,
whom you tested at Massah,
with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah;
9 who said of his father and mother,
‘I regard them not’;
he disowned his brothers
and ignored his children.
For they observed your word
and kept your covenant.
10 They shall teach Jacob your rules
and Israel your law;
they shall put incense before you
and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
11 Bless, O Lord, his substance,
and accept the work of his hands;
crush the loins of his adversaries,
of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”

12 Of Benjamin he said,

“The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety.
The High God [dwells safely by Him. He]surrounds him all day long,
and dwells between his shoulders.”

13 And of Joseph he said,

“Blessed by the Lord be his land,
with the choicest gifts of heaven above,
and of the deep that crouches beneath,
14 with the choicest fruits of the sun
and the rich yield of the months,
15 with the finest produce of the ancient mountains
and the abundance of the everlasting hills,
16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness
and the favor of him who dwells in the bush.
May these rest on the head of Joseph,
on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers.
17 A firstborn bull [His firstborn bull]—he has majesty,
and his horns are the horns of a wild ox;
with them he shall gore the peoples,
all of them, to the ends of the earth;
they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”

18 And of Zebulun he said,

“Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out,
and Issachar, in your tents.
19 They shall call peoples to their mountain;
there they offer right sacrifices;
for they draw from the abundance of the seas
and the hidden treasures of the sand.”

20 And of Gad he said,

“Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!
Gad crouches like a lion;
he tears off arm and scalp.
21 He chose the best of the land for himself,
for there a commander's portion was reserved;
and he came with the heads of the people,
with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord,
and his judgments for Israel.”

22 And of Dan he said,

“Dan is a lion's cub
that leaps from Bashan.”

23 And of Naphtali he said,

“O Naphtali, sated with favor,
and full of the blessing of the Lord,
possess the lake and the south.”

24 And of Asher he said,

“Most blessed of sons be Asher;
let him be the favorite of his brothers,
and let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Your bars shall be iron and bronze,
and as your days, so shall your strength be.

26 “There is none like God, O Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
through the skies in his majesty.
27 The eternal God is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
And he thrust out the enemy before you
and said, Destroy.

28 So Israel lived in safety,
Jacob lived alone,

in a land of grain and wine,
whose heavens drop down dew.
29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,
a people saved by the Lord,
the shield of your help,
and the sword of your triumph!
Your enemies shall come fawning to you,
and you shall tread upon their backs.”

Say Deuteronomy and most people inwardly groan. A lot of explaining how to be people of a Holy God. Not this time, this is answered prayer. Not as it should be, but our prayer is usually more about supplication instead of thanks. Look at this, it is true, God is more about willingness to provide blessings than anything else. Prayer is not bending God's will, it is receiving His willingness to bless. You are invited, as Jesus Christ's younger sibling, to look at the blessings and ask Father God to provide one for you or loved ones. These are what blessings are made of.

Blessings: Blessings of the Law, living righteously for praise of a Loving God. To live and not to die. A help. To put incense before You, as prayer, You accept the work of their hand. The beloved of the Lord dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long, and dwells between his shoulders. The best gifts of earth and heaven. Abundance in work, in rest, godly friends. The best land, a commander's portion from giving justice. Strength, youth, zest. To be sated with favor and blessing of the Lord. Most blessed of all brothers, God rides through heavens to be your help. God is your eternal resting place. Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help, and the sword of your triumph! Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs.

We give thanks, Father God, you are Good and Loving. We thank You for the change of seasons and the restoration of living things. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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Psalm 87 ~ My fountains are in you

Living in the internet age is a blessing, when I am not able to put my finger on the Word, I look through pages on sermons & commentaries for the meaning I am looking to express.

St. Patrick drove the snakes from Ireland, the human snakes inciting war & human sacrifice. He did this without a-how-to-book, without a phone call to a spiritual guidance counselor, without visual aids. Patrick had his faith and the word of God. Led by the Holy Spirit of God, his life made a huge impact.

St. Patrick ~ Thomas Cahill, Catholic author of the best-selling book How the Irish Saved Civilization ~ "Some 1,500 years ago a teenage boy from what is now Great Britain was kidnapped and enslaved by marauders from a neighboring country. Not since Paris absconded with Helen of Troy has a kidnapping so changed the course of history.

The invading marauders came from fifth-century Ireland. The teenager they captured eventually escaped, but returned voluntarily some years later. In the meantime, he had become convinced that he was handpicked by God to convert the entire country to Christianity.

Apparently, he was right.

In the process of converting the primitive people of Ireland, however, the former slave experienced a conversion, too. In the years that followed, he not only shared God with the people of Ireland, but also grew in his understanding of God through them. Cahill says, "The early Irish Christianity planted in Ireland by Patrick is much more joyful and celebratory [than its Roman predecessor] in the way it approaches the natural world. It is really not a theology of sin but of the goodness of creation, and it really is intensely incarnational." His use of biblical quotations, Cahill says, "is far more accurate and appropriate than many of the Fathers of the Church."

It's hard to grasp just what an accomplishment that was, says Cahill. When Patrick decided to "willingly go back to the barbarians with the gospel," Cahill explains, "he had to figure out how to bring the values of the gospel he loved to such people. These were people who still practiced human sacrifice, who warred with each other constantly and who were renowned as the great slave traders of the day.

"That was not a simple thing. This was before courses were given to missionaries in what is now called inculturation—how to plant the gospel in such a culture," Cahill says. "No one had ever even thought about how to do it; Patrick had to work his way through it himself.

These two brief documents, Patrick's Confession and his "Letter to Coroticus," are the basis for all we know of the historical Patrick. The uncontested, if somewhat unspecific, biographical facts about Patrick are as follows:

Patrick was born Patricius somewhere in Roman Britain to a relatively wealthy family. He was not religious as a youth and, in fact, claims to have practically renounced the faith of his family.

When Patrick looked back at the end of his life on his service to Ireland, Cahill says, he must have been pleased with his accomplishments. By the time of his death, or shortly thereafter, "the Irish stopped slave trading and they never took it up again." Human sacrifice had become unthinkable. And although the Irish never stopped warring on one another, "war became much more confined and limited by what we might call the 'rules of warfare.'

"I think that though he probably died knowing that he had succeeded in his mission," Cahill adds, "he also died hoping that success would be permanent and not temporary."

In fact, Patrick's success couldn't have been more permanent. Not only had he accomplished what he'd set out to do—convert the nation to Christ—but in the process he'd retrieved from obscurity the primary objective set by Christ for his apostles: the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

And so it was that a young Briton named Patricius died an Irishman named Patrick. And neither Ireland nor Christianity was ever quite the same."

Psalm 87

1On the holy mount stands the city he founded;
2 the Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 Glorious things of you are spoken,
O city of God. Selah

4 Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush —
“This one was born there,” they say.
5 And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her”;
for the Most High himself will establish her.
6 The Lord records as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah

7 Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”Selah

John 7:38
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."

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Psalm 78:1-39 ~ the children yet unborn

Psalm 78:1-39

1 Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.

5 He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6 that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.

9 The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,
turned back on the day of battle.
10 They did not keep God's covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They forgot his works
and the wonders that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”

21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
22 because they did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven,
24 and he rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Man ate of the bread of the angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
26 He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained meat on them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28 he let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed the strongest of them
and laid low the young men of Israel.

32 In spite of all this, they still sinned;
despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
36 But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being compassionate,
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.

Have you ever played the video game, The Sims? You build your person - Sim, from the head to the feet. You gift the Sim with traits. You educate your Sim and you house your Sim. If you become bored with your Sim, you can delete them, or build another one & ignore the first ones. It's a blend of Monopoly, Barbie Dolls and Stepford Wives. After all, Sims become tired, irritable, look up to you, wave and begin to complain.

God was tempted to delete the Children of Israel.

Yet he, being compassionate,
atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and comes not again.

What dark sayings of old?

They spoke against God, saying,
“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20 He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”

But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
Their heart was not steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.

I like the Sims, but never once has my homemade Sim even tried once to tell
me - thanks for my efforts. What would please Father God?

our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments

How important?

he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6 that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be like their fathers

"He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel."

This is basic truth. If God has not spoken, if He had not testified to his Word, His will, then we are adrift about the meaning of life.

How does God begin the 10 Commandments and see His Commandments?

Exodus 20
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."

God gave us His Commandments to set us free from the bondage of sin.

Give your children the knowledge of God and the hope He provides.
Blessed are you Father God. Help us to remember Your glorious
deeds and to look to You in hope. You have atoned for us in Jesus.
Help us to be the faithful, to abide in prayer and wait upon Your will.

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Psalm 30:2-12 ~ O LORD my God, I cried to thee for help, and thou hast healed me

Psalm 30:2-12

2 O LORD my God, I cried to thee for help, and thou hast healed me.
3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol, restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity, "I shall never be moved."
11 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
12 that my soul may praise thee and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever.

It has been an unusual year, year and a half, for me and a dear friend. If you read Scripture for Today Blogspot, you may already know our much longed for daughter, Isabelle, was stillborn at 33 weeks. September 23, 2008. My good friend, we talk just about every day, has had 7 teenager deaths - family friends - during this time.

The anniversary of death has arrived for one of their cherished friends. We have pain, it is necessary to acknowledge pain.

1 Thessalonians 4:13 (English Standard Version)
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

Part of grieving, from the terrible beginning, is seeing the hope and good news even it the midst of tragedy. Part of sadness, is the relief in being able to tell the Lord how awful it is to feel the pain. The joy we have in this:

~ Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song. ~
Pope John Paul II

In Jesus Christ, we have the sustaining hope:
O LORD my God, I cried to thee for help, and thou hast healed me.

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

Luke 23:43
Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

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Luke 15:11-32 ~ the son said to Him

Prodigal Son by Clark Kelly Price

Luke 15:11-32

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ [treat me as one of your hired servants]. 22 But the father said to his servants [bond servants], ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’"

The Father, filled with compassion, runs to his child. Both sons have something in common, they are interested in the Father's benefits, without being in love with Him.

It is amazing the depths of the Father's love, because He sells property to benefit the younger son. In an Arabic community, the younger son has publicly humiliated the Father. The younger son was never worried about conventional behavior, or what others thought about him, his reputation, he was interested in fun and experiencing life. The Father calls for the best robe of the house, it is, of course, the Father's robe. The Father has amazing depths of unconditional love, running to embrace and honor his child.

The older son has presumptive sins. He is angry! He has worked to do what was expected for the reward. Falling in with human nature, the biblical stories of brotherhood, he is secretly a little pleased he has a younger brother who has acted so badly for the limelight to shine more brightly on himself. The older brother is a stickler for the rules. He says to the Father - "that son of yours." There is not any brotherly love coming from an open heart.

Two types of nature in mankind, One Loving Father. Most people associate themselves more with the older brother, but why would we want to? The parable ends, we do not know if the older brother forgave and went inside to join the celebration. Why? It is up to us to love with all of our hearts. To love the Father.

Father God, let us love with open hearts. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

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