Matthew 6:16-18 ~ received their reward in full

In John 6:35, Jesus tells us that He is the Bread of Life. Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t suggest to us that we should fast, He says 'when' we fast.

Matthew 6:16-18
16 "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you

Why would we seek each day to please Father God?

Revelation 22
12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Joel tells us we all enter Heaven. We present ourselves to Father God.  In this Life we easily reserve for ourselves, in discernment, who will surround us. God also discerns who will be called into His Heaven. His Kingdom was bought with a price. Heaven was Sheol, a place of the dead. Jesus took what was wrong, impaired, flawed and deliberate sin upon Himself. He bought us with taking the curse of sin and death upon Him. Father God saw life has unusual twist, turns, requirements and injustices.



Isaiah 53
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.

Jesus steps up for us and says He has cancelled all debts that could be held against us. If someone provided for us all our lives, surely we would want to do what was right for them. This is why we don't lightly misbehave knowing what Jesus has done for us. God considers our souls so deep and so complicated, He tells us our soul is known to God. When we see this Great Love God has for us, we want to have honored God and considered this Love. Hannah could tell God her troubles. Proverbs tells us Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy. Except Abba, Father.

The Bread of Life:

Matthew 26:26
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”

Jesus as Bread of Life says this in John Chapter 6:

I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."

Jesus has brought us new Life. To worship God in Spirit and Truth.

Romans 7
4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

Father God is not far away and unknowable. God says He will dwell in us. Which sounds like Bob Uker could say, "Just a bit outside." John, having walked with Jesus, understood this and commented how we bring God to the people He gives us.

1 John 4:12
No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

Romans 13
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Romans 14
1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”

12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

This week I was on my way to Church and as the Policeman said, "In a twinkling of an eye, it can all change." And I heard a terrific crash and large impact as a car ran a red light into me, traveling well into a green light. My first thought as I gripped the steering wheel and, found out later, my childhood monkey type feet gripped the brake - was - "This is the end. Here I come Father God!" I don't think I even had time to say a word. And I realized, if I go home today - I'm okay. What I have prayed for is to go on Home to God without suffering. And I was shaken. It was a large, large jolt twice and I felt mostly euphoric to realize - I've presented myself before God daily and when I see God, I'm fully in faith Jesus covers me. And the event is now just sore muscles with more comfort God is there for us when we believe God is who He says He is. Hope is that His Promises are for me. Faith - we can believer He means this for me. Love - all there ever was covers me.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.


Thank You, Father God. In Jesus. Always. His Name covers me.  Cover the people I love and care for this day and always. You alone are God. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Psalm 84 ~ making our souls a place for God to want to praise us for our dwelling being lovely

 It's in His time and within His plan. Let us make the most of our day, each day

With God, we always have a great opportunity..... look UP!

Father God, how wonderful to be able to move past wearisome thoughts. To think of You, the Eternal.  God is One. The Glory of God. Your storehouse of blessings does not run empty. Give us eyes of gratitude to see the blessings.

Psalm 84

1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah

5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.

8 O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9 Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

10 For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Father God, one of the reasons You are our refuge - the world finds perfection is always the goal. And sometimes we work with the imperfect because this is the real condition of life. In careers, in medicine, in schooling, in relationships, in marriage, in our children's attitudes. John 21 states clearly Jesus worked with the imperfect in His Perfection.

There seems to always be a way we could have done something better. Someone has a comment. Someone has an opinion. From what they can see. In what they need. From their concern. From their view. Like cleaning a house - this exists like putting a bead on a cord that is un-knotted. Rarely do we see the complete view of even the person next to us. We only discern. God made us transparent to Him. In His Wisdom. Proverbs tells us the heart knows its own joys and sorrows. God alone knows souls and hearts He fashions. Are we underprivileged if we acknowledge this? This would be incorrect. The phrase, "Lonely at the Top" would fit the people who run the organizations. Someone wants their job and would do just about anything to get that. And if you complain, you appear weakened. People need to express themselves or they fester.

Scriptures work not just drawing vast millenniums - Scripture is telling us of Jacob trying to feed his family 3 millenniums ago. Or David in the perpetual hot seat - this explains the widening gap between the societal structure of force, work, jut, strain, bruise yourself forward and the necessity of tying needs tighter and tighter.

God is telling us Heaven isn't for the people who dressed in robes, riches or green thrift store adventures. God is saying He makes a nest for all who need Him. All who want Love. All who want Joy.

And in the quiet moments we can converse with God. We find Father God welcomes us with all His Love.

Assuring us - We are Loved. There is an Amazing Plan from God who fashioned a water molecule to be ice and warm to vapor, steam, liquid, mist, rain, streams, rivers, lakes, oceans. We can stand at the beach and See. God is so vast, He is the Universe. The waves pour forth and rush back. There is a breeze making Wind. God makes Wind and Clouds His Ministers. Psalm 104.

Psalm 131
A song of ascents. Of David.

1 My heart is not proud, Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.

3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.


Father God in the Perfect Grace of Jesus would draw us under His Wing. God would have us look further into His Vast Wisdom and call that nesting, resting place - His Pinion. God would say Life is going to give us fiery tests. And in Hope, Faith and Love we can call that Walking in Faith unseen, Adventure, Journey - God would say what we are doing is seeking the Narrow Path leading to Love - God. Eternity. And the quest is to explain this Eternal Love to the people God would bring to us. Making Heaven like Ephesians 3 - the place where families dwell.

Prayer is not the cultivation of a God who would add another tilt to the scale of what to do in life. Prayer is a lot about visualizing what healing would look like. A balm. A soul exists in each of us. A Light. Love people as you pray for them. People grow when others see what is true in them. 

God is  Love. 

Jesus is the Way, Truth, Life.

Father God, In You we rest. And trust. You are Faithful. This is where have our being. Thank You, God, for Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Psalm 81 ~ Shout for joy to the God of Jacob!

Psalm 81

1 Sing aloud to God our strength;
shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song; sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.

4 For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule [just decree] of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it a decree in Joseph
when he went out over [against] the land of Egypt.
I hear a language I had not known:
6 “I relieved your [his; also next line] shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
7 In distress you called, and I delivered you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah [quarreling]. Selah
8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel would not submit to me.
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
13 Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
16 But he would feed you [Israel; Hebrew him] with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Is the glass 1/2 full or empty? In this Psalm we are given a statute, a rule, a just decree and seemingly just the hope to just open our mouths to God's blessings. It is both a Psalm of hope and an appeal to us to have more faith in our souls and actions.

God's storehouse is famed for His willingness to Bless. Always Un-empty. Abundant. Sometimes called His Treasuries. These store unusual items. Name some of your's.

The Scriptures are neither and never 1/2 full or 1/2 empty. 
They are the Word of the Lord. 
An every day statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Except in the Scriptures - it is much more vital, living and important! The law isn't just the 10 Commandments, this is every Word coming from His mouth:

Romans 15:4
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.


More important than empty or full.
The LORD who doesn't change. Even in Deuteronomy - Christians don't find very exciting,  and yet importantly Deuteronomy 5 is about Father God wanting to willingly bless. Just like this Psalm.

Prayer isn't the dry need to cultivate a needy Deity. Prayer is alive and we reach by love into the hearts of the people we love.

What we usually pray to God is not that His will be done, but that He approves ours.
~Helga Bergold Gross

Prayer is about opening ourselves to the willingness of God. Just as the LORD tested the Children of Israel at Meribah.

As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in schools. Prayer is a conversation!

What is the factor of variation seeming to exist in this Psalm? It is within your soul and my soul. It is the expectation God hears our prayer conversations. That this life is meaningful and the works and words accomplished in them matter to Him. Greatly.

Psalm 126  tells us of great blessings to come and the desire for more blessings. And ends with:

He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.


This week I was so fortunate to meet a young woman who told me she had never been prayed for and had never seen anyone pray. She was radiant with her fiance after we prayed this together:

Father God, We know John walked with Jesus. John told us and described You as this: God is Love. In John 1, we learn You are the Light that shines in all of mankind. You are the giver and bringer of Life.

Your path is the one we want. Telling us how to be most abundantly the people you created us to be. Remembering and Acknowledging the Gifts You have put in us to be exactly the person You created us to be. We ask you to guide us on this path. Forgive us in Jesus when we are flawed or sin. Protect us. Rejoicing with You in the Life You give us and create. Be in us and let us be glad to have You Live in us. Amen in Jesus.

That shining face then invited Jesus to bless and live in her siblings she named with abundant Love. Her face shone with the Joy God puts in Love. Let's all be the Place God would want to Dwell.

What a Blessing to be there, to see this.  Thank You God.

Shouts of joy are required!

Father God, each day help us to cultivate the garden you've given us for our lives. Help us to work in Your Light. Help us to weed out what is not holy in Your eyes, even when we cherish that weed. Help us to see, diligently, Your blessings even when it is rain. Let us be children of Light even when we work with fertilizer. And in the reading of Your Word, help us also to be do-ers, let our lives reflect Your work in our garden. Bless our garden, like a mustard seed, which we took and planted in the garden You've give us. Let it grow and became a tree, so the birds of the air perched in its branches may sing to Your glory. Help us not to cultivate the garden for our use alone, but to be blessings to others with a generous heart.

Father God, the letter I wrote Edward's client urging them not to fire their sales force a year ago. Saying a farmer must work the ground given to him and put the seeds in the ground. Father God, next in our concerns, what we want most is that all our loved ones come to Heaven with You. We plant seeds, and yet only You give the Call. We ask you to Call for all of the people we love and tenderly care for.

Father God, teach us to let our words, our time, our talent be the meditation of the heart You hope for. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. In the holiest name of Jesus Christ we pray for Mercy and Your Will.  Thanks Be to God! Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Ephesians 4 ~ the way you learned Christ

Ephesians 4

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 

4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”

9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? [the lower parts of the earth?] 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds [pastors] and teachers, [the shepherd-teachers] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, [to a full-grown man] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.


17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 


29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 

32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.


Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He didn't slap hands away and tell them to leave Him alone for a moment to think. He did not put a noose of truth around someone and tell them it was for their own good. Jesus never did learn how to lasso.

Om. I know that I do these things.

He calls us to be part of His One Body.

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

What am I called to do?

2 Peter 3:18
Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.


Jesus attributes in this passage for us to prepare for Lent:
~ humility 
~ gentleness, 
~ with patience, 
~ bearing with one another in love, 
~ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit
Bringing to the World a  ~ bond of peace.  Jesus calls people to live in peace to the best of their ability.

Romans 12:18
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Why?
~ for building up the body of Christ

Tell people when they do the right things. Thank them. Be glad for when good news occurs. Apologize with Heart. When Given Scripture to Read - Stay there and find all the Glory in that Scripture. Be diligent.

~ attain to the unity of the faith
Church is not all about me. One Scripture suits one's needs - another is read for someone else. Scripture IS for all. Emotion is to be thought about and held in self-control. Not repressed, not unexpressed, not to overwhelm.

~ Speak the truth - in Love. Brutal truth isn't necessarily the way for peace. We have to go easier on each other.

What happens to the spoken truthfully encouraged Body of Christ? The honest truth given with Love....

His ~  body grows so that it builds itself up in love. That is Good News. Jesus spoke truthfully to Nicodemus. Gamaliel stood up to boldly say work on God's path. Jesus was known to speak Honestly and Forthrightly.


~ The truth is in Jesus. We should want to honor Love so much, we work there with Joy. We hold up God's Goodness and want to build our framework there. His standards, His family He gives us, His truthful healing and His Honest conversation. His prayer daily in John 17.

Allow Jesus to renew us each day. In Prayer. In the Scripture. In Hope. In Faith. In Love.

God never made little clones. The Disciples are all different from each other. Andrew was quick to see Jesus as the Messiah. However, Peter was the one God picked for living with his mother-in-law. God saw endurance and tenacity. God encourages marriage in Genesis' beginning. In Matthew's beginning. We need to encourage our families to Peace. Because the Path God brings us - is the only one we want to be on. This is where God blesses us to know completely - God Loves Me. And you are not surprised to find God's Love- in seeking God's will for your life. In Scripture. In Truth. In Mercy. This is where we connect to how much God is Love.

Jesus was good to His Brothers. God is vastly Good. Jesus gave us the example - when His Brothers egged Him on to be a "Show." Jesus just let them play monkeys in a barrel. And did the Will of His Father. When His Brothers did indeed love and get very worried for Jesus - Jesus told them - He was going to do the Will of His Father.

When His Brothers went out to Proclaim a Risen, Victorious Jesus. They took their wives. Jesus saw that as His Father's Will. God is for building up the Body of Christ.

The Scriptures are very real. If you were to sit down and write the Scriptures out by hand to send to a friend, you might want to edit parts. Instead God let us see all of the emotions. All of the flaws. So that we can deeply grasp how much WORK -  HE has called us to do to Love one another.

In the last chapter of John - Jesus knew the apostles would still be arm wrestling each other - Jesus still made them breakfast on the beach. Jesus wasn't surprised and still - breakfast welcomed the men who had failed Jesus.

God was honest about how flawed all of us are - All have Sinned - All Have Fallen. So we understand that Innocent, Good, Loving, Healing Perfection came to us. Jesus said, "I will Heal them all." That is Love. Worth knowing, worth honoring. Worth respecting.

The Scriptures - were written for you. That every Chapter warms you to the Love that John did see in God. God the Creator, God the Father, God the Pappa, God the Warrior, God the All Knowing. God is Good. God is One. This is the God to give us Life and to Worship with all we have. Give us the day.


Father God, we Abide in You when we want to please You. Thank You for Your mercy and Your atonement for me. Only because of Your righteousness - do we Abide in Jesus. We bring to You in prayerful Love and expectation the Ones we Love knowing You Love far greater. Thank You God. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Luke 7 ~ Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear

The Son is going to come up - tomorrow - bet your bottom dollar on Tomorrow.

Hosea 6:3

3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;

let us press on to acknowledge him.

As surely as the sun rises,

he will appear;

he will come to us like the winter rains,

like the spring rains that water the earth.

We are Children of God. Mary had something to say about the Son.

Luke 1

4 He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful

55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,

just as he promised our ancestors.

If you have two coats, give one to the one in need. Well, that is Bible and Scriptural warmth. The Love of God draws us to Him. Telling us that old sticky note is true - I believe in the Love God has for me - even on cloudy days.

Let me tell you. I love John's Gospel in the First Chapter. Give me the Light of God that shines in all men. Even the Alzheimer Patient her children are too sad to visit, and she asks her husband, "Who do you remember me to be?" And her husband smiles, "You are the one who Loves me." God says in Isaiah 49:15  He is going to remember us way past and beyond what even our mother remembers us.

And we continue in the warmth of God's days are millions of years. So Today - God says blessed are the eyes that see, more blessed are the eyes that did not have the blessing the prophets and kings asked God to see and yet - Believe.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Romans 8:35,37

So, this is our passage today and for us who believe - Luke 7 - is the question God remembers us -  how did we loose the name of the Centurion in this passage of amazing Love.  Love for Jesus that Centurion presented and the Jews have for a Gentile and a soldier to boot.

Luke 7:1-10

After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant.

4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

The Pillar reads the Son of Alphaeus, the son of Zebedee, the son of John. Of Course.

Jesus took up Capernaum as His adult Hometown. What happened to the name of the Centurion who built the Synagogue where we find a Pillar with the name Zebedee - as in Mark 10:35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee. The Synagogue is newer than the Centurion built. But the ability to say - related - is spot on accurate.

The answer is clear. Peter's house went on to become a House Church. Told by the Graffiti on the walls. This "HISTORY" did not pause. Here are the photos from the 1960's of Peter's Beautiful House where his mother-in-law was healed and served Jesus dinner:

What happened to the humble Centurion's name?

Micah 6

“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

9 The voice of the Lord cries to the city—
and it is sound wisdom to fear your name:
“Hear of the rod and of him who appointed it!



Indeed two millenniums have covered over the name of the Centurion who Pleased Jesus with his Faith. God has wrought this. Do we have a doubt that God has his name upon His Hand? We Believe.

I'd venture a guess from two thousand years ago, the Centurion asked that God remember him and knew what is important. Because walking humbly with God, the narrow path, where we live with God - is the relationship we need.

God is Love.

Father God, bring on the Son for us all and remember especially the ones we love and like and You have given us. In Jesus we have the glory to ask in expectation. Amen. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Matthew 2:13-15 ~ Joseph did what God called him to do

Matthew 2:13-15

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 

14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”


Luke 2
39 And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. 

And the favor of God was upon him.



We were asked to consider why Joseph dreamed and Mary was Privileged to speak with Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God Almighty Most High, Father of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Add to the fact of Joseph not Speaking to the Archangel - Joseph passed on when Jesus began His Ministry.

Was Joseph needed? The Sadducean Council records Mary was daughter of Heli, found to be a descendant of David in Luke 3. It's probable that Joseph was descended of David through Solomon and Mary descended of David through Nathan. C'mon. Jesus told us He could raise up descendents of Abraham from mere rocks. Imagine with me the delight of Jesus to wonder with the crowd at the Messiah being a descendant of David.  God does not need the DNA He created like a human does, God is the Father and Creator of the Universe by His Word.

Who was Joseph? He was called in a unique set of circumstance. Matthew 1:19 points out Joseph was just, faithful and righteous and dealt a hand of apparent mess.

Joseph is clearly identified in Matthew 2 during the presentation of a first born male in the Temple of God.
33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him.

God didn't call Joseph Step-Father. Joseph is credited twice, Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3, as  seamlessly blending Jesus into Joseph's family and called Joseph's Son.

So why is Mary more privileged to be there for the mystery, the angels, and proclaimed today as the Mother of God?

1 Timothy 3:16
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Well. God planned for Mary to be the one who tried to rescue Jesus from the Trouble brewing and the one to stay until He was going to Heaven. Mary was sent on by Jesus.

However, Joseph still counts. How could a man stand to see His Son die? I think there would have been scenes of Joseph rushing in. You have to be God to give up Your Son. This family is biblically recorded as being tender love.


1 Thessalonians 4

13 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.

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.


We are told Joseph is old. Because in the Acts of the Apostles - there is a Biblical quote - the old will dream dreams. However this was speaking of the end of days. A young Daniel dealt with dreams and so did a young Joseph, son of Jacob/Israel - Vizier of Egypt. We always thought their dreams were good!

Let's consider Spiritual Gifts:

1 Corinthians 12
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Why did God will Mary to see angels and Joseph merely dreamed? Because of God - they Loved. Maybe Joseph was not made to appreciate angels. Maybe Mary would have ignored a dream.

1 Corinthians 12:21
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”

God is Love. His Gifts manifest His Love.

Where I volunteer - PACN; Recently, I spoke to a man who fell in love. He was divorced and his loved woman was working on a divorce. Her first husband had abused her and was unwilling to sign divorce papers. She had been in the court system for three years. And had just found out - she was pregnant. He was telling me that he didn't care if the biological age of the human bean was found to make the child another man's child. He was looking forward to a spring wedding. In fact, his fiancee found out her ex-husband signed the papers  - the day the next wedding was being planned, this very man and the woman, were talking to us - she found she could obtain a divorce. The first husband changed his mind. When I saw this woman later, at the sonogram, her fiance got very quiet and said he already had three children and he was not about to raise another man's baby. He left. She was crying. However, the father of the baby was thrilled to be having a child.




Joseph was thrilled to be betrothed. He was building a house. And news came, she was unfaithful. End of the dream. As righteousness would allow, Joseph could divorce her. Instead, Joseph was going to be merciful and his dreams began again. Very inconveniently. 80 miles with a donkey and a pregnant woman. His first baby. No hospital, not a clean bedroom available. No hospitality. Lots of men might have run out just for that. Joseph was going to have to take this child right into the Lion's Den to present the Child to the Temple. And then more dreams about leaving his home, his country, his livelihood. His family. His city. Joseph was like Abraham - willing to argue mercy for someone else.

Joseph was like Timothy, Luke and Mark. Willing to be there in the end.

2 Timothy 4
9 Do your best to come to me soon. Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.

Why did Joseph dream Dreams? Joseph Loved.

1 John 4:16
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

This photo is for Anne Cable. She always wanted the Angel we saw on Lake Texhoma to have the words from 1 Timothy 3 on the photo.

Father God, Willing God, help the Beloved to stay on the Path. Give us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and remind us to bless. Greater is He in us. We ask in Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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