God Loves

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Expectation. Boundaries. Angles of Victory and Defeat. Life rarely rests in one angle. But in Jesus Christ - the Victory is - Ours.

The first time I painted a portrait and a frame. I was told I did well. And then the additional comment was - it needed a fence. Don't we all need fences.

Now if you were God and you went - Oh, the places you'd go.

Ezekiel 17
'This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it;
I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

23 On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it;
it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar.
Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches.

24 All the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.

" 'I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it.' "


God goes like the Wind. Where He wants to go - He exists. Our boundaries are in HIS hands.

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We've been blessed to witness this murmuation blessing as a family.

Who do we expect God to be in our lives? What do we expect from one another? Do we have enough belief in ourselves to press forward? Do we have enough belief to step back? And the wisdom to know the difference.

And do we have the innate confidence in Him when the winds of life, of ennui, blow around our lives, hearts, head to say - to the Gentleman God is - I allow You.

When our cage is rattled or unnoticed - do we still say - Your Will be done.

Where we put our faith is very important. We build a legacy when we press forward with Him.

And on the days when we don't feel victorious - remembering Paul roundly chewed out Peter publicly - saying "I no longer Live but Christ in me!" - Oh those days remember - that was the Holy Spirit saying - Jesus was going to triumph even if Jesus didn't chew Peter out publicly.

Remembering the Magi - traveled, risking  all to proclaim - The Birth of the Son of God!!! - to - Herod.

The Disciples said a Journey to please God costs a lot. Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake - and they continued. Believing blessings would be given from HIM who generously does not run out of Blessings.

 

What about Psalm 100.

Make 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 not we ourselves] and we are his;
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.

Jesus said Abundant Life.
Give Us The Day! John lived until the Second Century. Luke lived to be old. Timothy was fighting the good fight in his eighties. Thessalonians were a constant bother - visit the Church in Thessaloniki - Still Standing!!! Based upon the house Churches in the Book of Acts.

We think of all the hardship and we say - that's a Saint. Maybe we need to really think of the Joy. The Joy of the Lord is our Strength! Centenarians believe in every situation - God is going to eventually work this out. And ... they are correct. Faith might be mocked, yet the joy is the Faithful- whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 

Faith is a a complete circle - the joy it brings - creates more joy. The Bible begins with a tree of life, a flowing river, and humanity at peace with the creation. Genesis 1–3 circles to Revelation 20–22.

God loves us so much He continually brings more Life into the world. It's almost like exactly the way the Scriptures repeat.

Another circle - The carpenter didn’t build the Temple. He is in Our Temple. We create lives where we Give Him our day. Or with sincere apology we say - help my Temple to be more joyful and loving to You.

Psalm 28:7
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

We all have exactly two choices. To Do His Will with Verve. Or to go darkly.


In The Weight of Glory, C. S. Lewis says:

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is ...with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ‘ordinary’ people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations — these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit — immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind...which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously.... And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner.

We are immortal creatures, destined to live eternally, resurrected. An existence with Jesus Christ. Or destined to successfully have avoided God. 

Jesus told us what the New Covenant deal truly is -

Jonah cast lots to get out of his mission - but Jesus said:

Nehemiah 8:10
Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Matthew 8:
But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man 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.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.

13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.


Mark 2:19
And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast!


John 14:12-14
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

What would God say to us about Evangelism? HE would say - HE paid the Price. Jesus paid the Price. He would remind us - One must be called to be Chosen of Him. God called us to be Salt and Light. Like a potato chip. We all know one potato chip is almost impossible to not want more. Jesus was asked about Salvation upon leaving the tail end of His Ministry. Down from Transfiguration Joy, He was greeted by failed disciples and a father crying out he had faith - but needed more. Jesus did not castigate the father's love - He urged Him to fast and pray. Jesus reached out willingly to give - even when pressed. Jesus did not break a bruised reed. Jesus is Our Hero. Jesus Loves Each One of Us. All who call upon God - Will Be Saved.

Preach the Gospel - if you have to - Use Words.

Humility is an important factor. Creating the teachable moment is planting the seeds of what you believe. Speak up. God is for us. In a Huge Way, Truth, Life. People don't care so much what you know - they care that you Love. Does the Bible ever say life is a test? All the time. See Psalm 11. See trial and error and try again throughout Scripture. Faith calls us. Go forward.

Proverbs 16:1
The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

Psalm 37:5
Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

John 14:12-14
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.


Give us the Day, Father GOD - and Let Your Will be done. In Jesus we pray. Help us - this - and each day - to be a blessing to You. We pray You take our lives - to let them be for Your Glory. Asking You to Equip us, Guide us, Lead us for Your namesake and in Your Glory. Strengthen and Establish Your Plan in our lives. Blessed are You, Lord Father God, for bringing us Salvation in Jesus.  - Amen !

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Luke 23:26-31 ~ a great multitude of the people

Today in Jerusalem, this is a model of the 2nd Temple with a close-up of Solomon's Porch.






Luke 23:26-31


And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him.

28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

A good question, surely, when we are 2 millenniums past Jesus giving us all of God's promises and changing Heaven forever.

And how often I pictured Jesus dying like "Godspell" with just a few sympathizers. Here we read, the truth, a great multitude of people Mourned for Jesus. These are the people in the Book of Acts who filled the Temple. They are referred to as a multitude again.

Acts 2:6
And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.

Acts 5:12 -15
Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

Joel 3:14
Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

People will forever disagree if the day is all at once, or like the people who come back from near death experiences - immediately. Time belongs to God. It is His invention. I suppose He can use time any way He wants. We, who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus, will find out what time is all about in Heaven when we get there.

What does the Book of Acts, Chapter 2, say about the time when the wood becomes dry? 

But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel [2nd Chapter of Joel]:

17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes,
the great and magnificent day.

21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

Thank You, Jesus Christ Our LORD.

I've been thinking this weekend about my son's friend Cory's funeral. He died in Iraq and people turned out for his funeral lining 6 miles of road from the Church to the Interstate. And I knew Cory had 6 really good friends. People wanted to honor the valiant, Christian, Hometown 19 year old. The stood on the overpasses with firetrucks and ladders extended with the flag hanging. Traffic on the interstate - the other side - was halted. It was amazing. I prayed for Cory not to depart this life without seeing what was done for him. Volunteering for that mission. His mom is Christian Child Minister for her Church. I believe he is the only man I've known who died for this country.

He was an excellent young man, encouraging delinquents of the neighborhood to stop setting fire to their fences and play hide and seek they called 'Commandos'. Organizing an intervention for a very young boy, from the country, not to go in the woods & hurt what that boy called "critters." Changed the life of that boy. I really prayed fervently this glory would be revealed to Cory, as my son & I drove the 6 miles behind the hurst. I felt assuredly Cory could see it all. The day Cal told me Cory had gone behind his parent's wishes (and I hear them on that completely) and enlisted, I saw a cloud, as Cal spoke, in the shape of a star.

 

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Exodus 7 ~ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron

Exodus 7


Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4 he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

6 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

8 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ then say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a snake.”

10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the Lord commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a snake. 11 Pharaoh then summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the Egyptian magicians also did the same things by their secret arts: 12 Each one threw down his staff and it became a snake. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as he goes out to the river. Confront him on the bank of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened. 17 This is what the Lord says: By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.’”

19 The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over the streams and canals, over the ponds and all the reservoirs—and they will turn to blood.’ Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.”

20 Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded. He raised his staff in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was changed into blood. 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.

22 But the Egyptian magicians did the same things by their secret arts, and Pharaoh’s heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said. 23 Instead, he turned and went into his palace, and did not take even this to heart. 24 And all the Egyptians dug along the Nile to get drinking water, because they could not drink the water of the river.

Mount Nebo - Where Moses would see the glory of God and the Children of Israel enter the promised land.

Psalm 133
A song of ascents. Of David.

1 How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!

2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.

We become so focused on Moses, we generally forget thinking about this would be like watching this - As one of the people who had waited 500 years for freedom - as a slave in Egypt.

People Complained.

Exodus 5
19 The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” 20 When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, 21 and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”
God Promises Deliverance

22 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me?

The first three plagues seemed to affect "all the land of Egypt," the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th did not affect the children of Israel. The slaves were only spared from the final plague by sacrificing the Paschal lamb, marking the place directly above the doors with the lamb's blood, and eating the roasted sacrifice together.

And the people complained in Exodus Chapter 14 - Leaving Egypt -  A bad day for the Lord.

Chapter 16, 17,  18 discusses problems,  Chapters 19 and 20 are about fear.  The Governing Disputes Discussed and the Temple . Complaining begins again as soon as God's business concludes for the Tabernacle in Exodus 32.  Sadness Chapter 33. Fear in Chapter 34.  Blessing in 39 for the last few Chapters of Building the Tabernacle. Glory follows the Blessing in Exodus 40.

The Story of the Exodus continues in Numbers Chapter One. 

⁶ The total number was 603,550.

 Numbers 9 Describes the Pillar  Numbers 11 ends the setting up of Government and Tabernacle to see complaining again. The pattern is of work or complaints. Numbers 12 is Aaron and Miriam oppose Moses. 13 is the refusal to participate in the promises of God.  14 is more rebellion. 15 Work. 16 Complain. 17 is really sad with miracles and complaints. Numbers 20 is a return back to every day life with Moses having rash words over Water and being provoked with the people again. 21 is deliverance in war and grumbling. 22 Is the surround countries getting worried about this crowd. Numbers 25 Moab Seduces Israel and a plague. Numbers 26 The Second Census. Numbers 27 Zelophehad’s Daughters certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them. 30 is Holy days and vows. Numbers 31 war against the Midianites. 32 is Land is subdued before the Lord, you may return and be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the Lord. 33 Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.

Numbers 34 is the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries. Numbers 35 have towns to live in and pasturelands. Numbers 36 the Lord commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within their father’s tribal clan.

Deuteronomy continues in the Exodus we have learned.

Deuteronomy 4:34-40

Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other. 

From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,  to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.

Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.

Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

It's rather amazing people don't like Deuteronomy - there are so many blessings willingly and graciously bestowed.

And when the people began to live His blessings.  A Nation was born -  

This is a view of the Temple from Herod's Royal Stoya - what the first Vatican was built to look like. 

A Nation following in the footsteps of the Nation before.

Why did Jesus and His Family live in Egypt?

Matthew 2:14-15
So (Joseph) got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.

Several very important reasons. Of course, the escape from Herod. Teaching us based upon History of King's lives - Jesus lived in Egypt for probably 3.5 years before going to Bethlehem and on to Nazareth. These stories are especially important to the Egyptian Coptic Church which states that the Holy Family remained in Egypt for a little over three and a half years.

[7 BC - Herod "the Great" executed two of his sons, Alexandros and Aristobulus (by his second wife, Mariamne). Mariamne herself had been executed earlier (29 BC), accused falsely of plotting to poison Herod.

6 BC (or as early as 7 BC) - Assumed date of Jesus' birth.

5 BC (Jesus about 1 year old, and residing in Egypt) - Near the end of Herod's reign, a group of students of the law, cut down a golden eagle that had been placed by Herod "over the gate of the Temple" (Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, book 2, 1:2). Jews saw the eagle as symbol of Roman domination and a violation of the law against the use of any sort of carved images, especially in connection with the house of God, their most sacred shrine. Although the perpetrators and their teachers were executed, the image was never restored.

4 BC (Jesus about 2 years old) - Fearful for his security, Herod ordered the execution of his son, Antipater, for a perceived conspiracy to murder his father.

Five days later, the sixty-nine-year-old monarch died at the Jericho Palace. From the description by Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (The Wars of the Jews, book 1, chapter 33:5-8), it has been surmised he suffered Fournier’s gangrene, a horrible disease that affected his genitals and blocked his breathing]

Another reason would be to educate Jesus to be beyond a mere country lad. To understand large Government.

Enabling Jesus to see beyond borders. Perhaps giving Jesus a foreign accent. A sojourner in a foreign land.

And, most importantly, to live the lives of the slaves - going like children - where their overseers direct them. Surrounded by events, unable to direct them.

Helping us to understand again, Jesus fully lived the life God wanted for us to know -  He would walk with us.

Mark 10:32
They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe 

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Matthew 14:22-36 ~ Immediately

Raise your hand if you love Jesus!!!

Matthew 14:22-36

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. 27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

28 And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick 36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Why is it that man (- who called Himself the Son of Man - because of His Great Love -) could do this and be made to suffer and die? The answer of the supposed end - is in the beginning.


John 1
The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.

Just as science recently proved a lightning strike pulls the electromagnetic structure of the entire planet and is fueled by the son, so the Body of Christ functions.

Jesus was pulled so many directions, HE could have walked on water and not gotten water upon Himself. Quantum Physics - "Quantum" comes from the Latin meaning "how much." It refers to the discrete units of matter and energy that are predicted by and observed in quantum physics. Even space and time, which appear to be extremely continuous, have smallest possible values. Might tell us that as Living Water - Jesus rose to the surface to live, move and have His being.

One of the key concepts is quantum entanglement, which describes a situation where multiple particles are associated in such a way that measuring the quantum state of one particle also places constraints on the measurements of the other particles.

Jesus chose instead to see the man with his hand up in the air as someone worth saving. God enters in - He reaches down and predictably saves Peter immediately - as time requires. God is engaged in us. Not just cruising on by.

How is Holy Water created? By belief and, also, simply the presence of God. In baptism, water is made holy by acknowledging all the properties of God in the water. In Genesis, He hovers over the waters of Creation. Through the water, He pushes back the Red Sea for His Children to walk upon dry land. He Stands upon the Water. He will be baptized in water, by one called Least in the Kingdom of Heaven, as His Father asks Him.

God doesn't just rest from seeing Jesus in Baptism. He engages. "THIS IS MY BELOVED SON."

Deists jump back. It is by faith we believe. Lightning did not appear to be connected - this was unseen for quite some time.

What do you think Jesus said to Peter in the boat later? God does describe Himself as a Father. And tells us what that is like to come in contact with a God of Salvation.

Zechariah might be put in here very easily. And Exodus 34.

Exodus 34:6-8
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands,a forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped."

And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Now picture Peter with Jesus in the boat.

Zechariah 1
And the Lord answered gracious and comforting words to the angel who talked with me. 14 So the angel who talked with me said to me, ‘Cry out, Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 And I am exceedingly angry with the nations that are at ease; for while I was angry but a little, they furthered the disaster. 16 Therefore, thus says the Lord, I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy; my house shall be built in it, declares the Lord of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem. 17 Cry out again, Thus says the Lord of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.’”

Matthew 16
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

The proof is in His Story. His Church prevails.

Father, some people seem impossible to reach. They have no interest in spiritual things. However, I know You can soften their heart and get their attention so I am praying Ephesians 1:17-18. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to (put their name here) a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of (put their name here) 's heart may be enlightened, so that (put their name here) will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, AMEN

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Mark 2:23-28 ~ “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

Mark 2:23-28

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. 

24 And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” 

25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: 26 how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Learning isn't really memorization. This is asking - "Why"?

We say, okay, sounds credible - David ate the Bread of the Presence. But the follow up of Abiathar the High Priest - Saul murdered the priests for desecration. That sounds reasonable - if a villain on the run from the anointed King eats the Communion Offering - then people should be slain.

Proverbs 19:21
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

2 Samuel 6:6
But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. 7 And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.

Surely we know God is not usually God who punishes by death.

Psalm 30:5
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Uzzah - we just must agree was later given His favor. And recorded for millenniums for being willing to put up his hand to help God in his intentions.

Jesus was saying time displays Saul actually became a murderer of Priests. Not the nobility of anointed King.

David was not shaken from his belief - as he ran in hunger and desperation - life was shaking him down - he was not overcome. Knowing God is for him. Twenty two years - this was a long time living in caves and ditches. A mercenary for hire.

Jesus is amazing. Jesus is recalling in His life - the puzzles of what Jesus loved to say "It is Written." This isn't an easy story. Jesus is in there. Really in there.

Jesus is that Man. In Genesis, He hovers over the waters of Creation. Through the water, He pushes back the Red Sea for His Children to walk upon dry land. He Stands upon the Water. He will be baptized in water, by one called Least in the Kingdom of Heaven, as His Father asks Him. He reaches down into the water, for a man convinced of his own righteousness - immediately saving him.

God tells us, HE sees mankind.  Generation Millennium, X, or Y. But Generation D. D.R.A.M.A. Surely Saul proved what Drama really is - selfishness saying - I matter at all costs.

Mark 7:21-24
For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.

Romans 3:10
As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God."

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

John 2:25
He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person.

Jesus looked into the heart of mankind and said He wants to...

John 1:4-5,9
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

John, told the historian, second-century Bishop Papias of Hierapolis, John affirmed and approved the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. Historians B.W. Bacon, Martin Hengel and Henry Barclay Swete, maintain these references to Papias are credible. Papias wrote five books interviewing the accuracy of the sayings of Jesus by speaking with witnesses. Eusebuis quoted Papias from time to time.

John records Jesus - God is Love.

God is the one who will go into situations of messy behavior - throughout Scripture - and make a Path. A Way. A Truth. A Life. Not just 'a life'. Life! And have it abundantly.

John Donne wrote - Find What Wind Serves to Advance an Honest Mind.

Christians have a response to this Overwhelming Love. We are Temple to His Holy Spirit.


Expectation, Hope, Faith, Rebirth,
We are Supposed to recharge. Renew. Just as Jesus was saucy to Nicodemus. We are to be reborn. Tell Him with honesty - when we feel forgotten, left behind. God wants us to have hope and faith - leading to Love.

John 3
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind[e] blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Jesus wasn't just Baptized. When He rose from the water - God told Him -
"You are my Beloved Son."

God enters in - we should as well. In Expectation - The Wind of the Spirit will bless.

Father God - GIVE US THE DAY!!! You are FOR us!!! In Jesus Christ. Amen.

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