Proverbs 1 ~ a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck

Sistine Chapel, Vatican. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni 1508–1512. According to his own accounts, Michelangelo was originally commissioned to paint the 12 Apostles against a starry sky, but lobbied for a different and more complex scheme, representing Creation, the Downfall of Man, the Prophets and the Promise of Salvation through Jesus Christ.

There are many people who don’t understand Father God as a Father. Life hasn’t shown them an example of a father reminding them of God. Other people, usually women, feel religion hasn’t given honor to women since the Genesis chapter of Eve eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Frankly, I am very comfortable seeing God as Father and mankind as something I am part of. But the nature of God is Shepherd, looking for the one lost lamb and rejoicing over it. Genesis repeats the creation of mankind in the first and the second chapters –

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

Genesis 2 gives Adam a longer time being alone and then woman is made from Adam’s rib. Both Genesis chapters let us know, the blueprint image of man – God’s image – has male and female aspects. Adam’s rib was removed to create woman, Adam was split (forgive the pun) to be the Adam we consider mankind today.

Proverbs 1 honors women as the female aspect of God being wisdom. The Lord honors women in Proverbs 1. He doesn't dwell on women, verses 8 and 9 honor both parents together. This is parental advice from God the parent. But Abba isn’t One to dwell on the differences. He encourages love, because He is love.

Ephesians 5:25-33
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.


Proverbs 1

1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for gaining wisdom and instruction;
for understanding words of insight;

3 for receiving instruction in prudent behavior,
doing what is right and just and fair;

4 for giving prudence to those who are simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—

5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—

6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
the sayings and riddles of the wise.

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction
and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
9 They are a garland to grace your head
and a chain to adorn your neck.

10 My son, if sinful men entice you,
do not give in to them.

11 If they say, "Come along with us;
let's lie in wait for innocent blood,
let's ambush some harmless soul;

12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave,
and whole, like those who go down to the pit;

13 we will get all sorts of valuable things
and fill our houses with plunder;

14 cast lots with us;
we will all share the loot"—

15 my son, do not go along with them,
do not set foot on their paths;

16 for their feet rush into evil,
they are swift to shed blood.

17 How useless to spread a net
where every bird can see it!

18 These men lie in wait for their own blood;
they ambush only themselves!

19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain;
it takes away the life of those who get it.

20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud,
she raises her voice in the public square;
21 on top of the wall she cries out,
at the city gate she makes her speech:

22 "How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?
How long will mockers delight in mockery
and fools hate knowledge?

23 Repent at my rebuke!
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,
I will make known to you my teachings.

24 But since you refuse to listen when I call
and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand,

25 since you disregard all my advice
and do not accept my rebuke,

26 I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you;
I will mock when calamity overtakes you—

27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

28 "Then they will call to me but I will not answer;
they will look for me but will not find me,

29 since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the LORD.

30 Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,

31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.

32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm."

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Luke 10:25-42 ~ sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said

Luke 10:25-42

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"

27 He answered, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' [c]; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' [d]"

28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii [e] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. [f] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Footnotes:

c. Luke 10:27 Deut. 6:5
d. Luke 10:27 Lev. 19:18
e. Luke 10:35 A denarius was the daily wage of a day laborer (see Matt. 20:2).
f. Luke 10:42 Some manuscripts but only one thing is needed

~ sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.

If you received a letter from the Lord, wouldn't you read it? Every time you read the Scriptures, you have read a letter written by the Holy Spirit for you. By faith, we believe Jesus Christ died specifically for us. The Scriptures are written for you. As you read the Scripture above, what does it say to you, without glancing back, what did you read?

When you remember what you read, that is the message for you.

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Psalm 81 ~ no foreign god among you

Psalms Chapter 81 - New American Bible

1
Sing joyfully to God our strength; shout in triumph to the God of Jacob!
2
Take up a melody, sound the timbrel, the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.
3
Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our solemn feast.
4
For this is a law in Israel, an edict of the God of Jacob,
5
Who made it a decree for Joseph when he came out of the land of Egypt. I hear a new oracle:
6
"I relieved their shoulders of the burden; their hands put down the basket.
7
In distress you called and I rescued you; unseen, I spoke to you in thunder; At the waters of Meribah I tested you and said: Selah
8
'Listen, my people, I give you warning! If only you will obey me, Israel!
9
There must be no foreign god among you; you must not worship an alien god.
10
I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open wide your mouth that I may fill it.'
11
But my people did not listen to my words; Israel did not obey me.
12
So I gave them over to hardness of heart; they followed their own designs.
13
But even now if my people would listen, if Israel would walk in my paths,
14
In a moment I would subdue their foes, against their enemies unleash my hand.
15
Those who hate the LORD would tremble, their doom sealed forever.
16
But Israel I would feed with the finest wheat, satisfy them with honey from the rock."

~ 9 There must be no foreign god among you; you must not worship an alien god.

Most of us, when we think of idols, think about some of the idolatry listed in the bible. The gods and goddesses worshiped long ago, required sacrifice and worship very different than our worship today. And then we think of materialism, maybe, in the 2nd category. In my area of the world, being industrious and self-sufficient is very important. I’d say to the point of being busy becoming a god.

Our church, Hopepointe Anglican, has focused this Lent on being still to know the Lord.

Psalm 46:10
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

In a conversation recently, I heard someone say to feel peaceful they must be away from all other people, in the country. This amount of separation is not needed, but to be still and be quiet in prayer.

When God began to tell the children of Israel how to become the people He chose to bless and to love, in Exodus, He told them to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. He asked them to set a time each week to allow for rest, a time set aside to honor the Lord (as well as to honor Him in our words and actions). Not only are we to keep Sabbath, we are to give Sabbath. We are to give the land rest. We are to give all of our laborers rest. Give every living creature the opportunity to rest and refresh. Sabbath is to be for every level of society.

I remember receiving information from my children's schools reminding us not to over schedule children. Lessons, play dates and learning are important, but each person needs time to just be.

Jesus told us doing good on the Sabbath is in His Spirit. He told us He fulfills the Law, not to be legalistic. Jesus' Father, our Abba, rested.

Be Still and Know I am the Lord - Video

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Psalm 78:1-39 ~ forgot His works and the wonders that He had shown them

Ipuwer Papyrus

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 [2] 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 [3] a breath, [4]
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.

Footnotes
[1] 78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
[2] 78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting
[3] 78:33 Hebrew in
[4] 78:33 Or vapor

Jeremiah 33:3 (American Standard Version)
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and will show thee great things, and difficult, which thou knowest not.

Genesis 15:6 (New International Version)
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Galatians 3:6,7
Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.

~ 11 They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.

The children of Israel numbered 40,000 as they left Egypt. With the number, we know they were in all different stages of faith. According to the Exodus, the people of faith grumbled during the 10 plagues and doubted Moses, but believed much sooner than the Pharaoh. The Ipuwer Papyrus, the papyrus in the Leiden Museum in Holland, an eyewitness Egyptian angrily saw the 10 plagues as a human failure of government to control the environment.

The Egyptian writing Ipuwer was angry enough to catalog the disasters, perhaps to insure future disasters should be better regulated, and the response more sure. In typical dynastic empowerment, the Pharaoh’s name is obliterated in the Ipuwer, but the events were terrible enough to keep the reminder. Egyptians wanted to remember.

The children of Israel forgot Father God’s power every time trouble came to them. But God tells them He has not forgotten them, many future generations will hear of His help and His love.

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Luke 6 ~ the torrent burst, and immediately it collapsed and fell, and the breaking and ruin of that house was great.

Broken stormwater drain led to sinkhole

Luke 6 (Amplified Bible)

1 ONE SABBATH while Jesus was passing through the fields of standing grain, it occurred that His disciples picked some of the spikes and ate [of the grain], rubbing it out in their hands.(a)

2 But some of the Pharisees asked them, Why are you doing what is not permitted to be done on the Sabbath days?(b)

3 And Jesus replied to them, saying, Have you never so much as read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him?--[I Sam. 21:1-6.] (c) 4 How he went into the house of God and took and ate the [sacred] loaves of the showbread, which it is not permitted for any except only the priests to eat, and also gave to those [who were] with him?

5 And He said to them, The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.

6 And it occurred on another Sabbath that when He went into the synagogue and taught, a man was present whose right hand was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees kept watching Jesus to see whether He would [actually] heal on the Sabbath, in order that they might get [some ground for] accusation against Him. 8 But He was aware all along of their thoughts, and He said to the man with the withered hand, Come and stand here in the midst. And he arose and stood there.

9 Then Jesus said to them, I ask you, is it lawful and right on the Sabbath to do good [so that someone derives advantage from it] or to do evil, to save a life [and make a soul safe] or to destroy it?

10 Then He glanced around at them all and said to the man, Stretch out your hand! And he did so, and his hand was fully restored like the other one.

11 But they were filled with lack of understanding and senseless rage and discussed (consulted) with one another what they might do to Jesus.

12 Now in those days it occurred that He went up into a mountain to pray, and spent the whole night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He summoned His disciples and selected from them twelve, whom He named apostles (special messengers): 14 They were Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; 15 And Matthew and Thomas; and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 And Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor (a treacherous, basely faithless person).

17 And Jesus came down with them and took His stand on a level spot, with a great crowd of His disciples and a vast throng of people from all over Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to listen to Him and to be cured of their diseases-- 18 Even those who were disturbed and troubled with unclean spirits, and they were being healed [also]. 19 And all the multitude were seeking to touch Him, for healing power was all the while going forth from Him and curing them all [saving them from severe illnesses or calamities].

20 And solemnly lifting up His eyes on His disciples, He said: Blessed (happy--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition--and to be envied) are you poor and lowly and afflicted (destitute of wealth, influence, position, and honor), for the kingdom of God is yours!

21 Blessed (happy--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition--and to be envied) are you who hunger and seek with eager desire now, for you shall be filled and completely satisfied!
Blessed (happy--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition--and to be envied) are you who weep and sob now, for you shall laugh!

22 Blessed (happy--with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, apart from your outward condition--and to be envied) are you when people despise (hate) you, and when they exclude and excommunicate you [as disreputable] and revile and denounce you and defame and cast out and spurn your name as evil (wicked) on account of the Son of Man.

23 Rejoice and be glad at such a time and exult and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is rich and great and strong and intense and abundant in heaven; for even so their forefathers treated the prophets.

24 But woe to (alas for) you who are rich (abounding in material resources), for you already are receiving your consolation (the solace and sense of strengthening and cheer that come from prosperity) and have taken and enjoyed your comfort in full [having nothing left to be awarded you].

25 Woe to (alas for) you who are full now (completely filled, luxuriously gorged and satiated), for you shall hunger and suffer want! Woe to (alas for) you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep and wail!

26 Woe to (alas for) you when everyone speaks fairly and handsomely of you and praises you, for even so their forefathers did to the false prophets.

27 But I say to you who are listening now to Me: [in order to heed, make it a practice to] love your enemies, treat well (do good to, act nobly toward) those who detest you and pursue you with hatred, 28 Invoke blessings upon and pray for the happiness of those who curse you, implore God's blessing (favor) upon those who abuse you [who revile, reproach, disparage, and high-handedly misuse you].

29 To the one who strikes you on the jaw or cheek, offer the other jaw or cheek also; and from him who takes away your outer garment, do not withhold your undergarment as well.

30 Give away to everyone who begs of you [who is in want of necessities], and of him who takes away from you your goods, do not demand or require them back again.

31 And as you would like and desire that men would do to you, do exactly so to them.

32 If you [merely] love those who love you, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even the [very] sinners love their lovers (those who love them).

33 And if you are kind and good and do favors to and benefit those who are kind and good and do favors to and benefit you, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? For even the preeminently sinful do the same.

34 And if you lend money at interest to those from whom you hope to receive, what quality of credit and thanks is that to you? Even notorious sinners lend money at interest to sinners, so as to recover as much again.

35 But love your enemies and be kind and do good [doing favors so that someone derives benefit from them] and lend, expecting and hoping for nothing in return but considering nothing as lost and despairing of no one; and then your recompense (your reward) will be great (rich, strong, intense, and abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind and charitable and good to the ungrateful and the selfish and wicked.

36 So be merciful (sympathetic, tender, responsive, and compassionate) even as your Father is [all these].

37 Judge not [neither pronouncing judgment nor subjecting to censure], and you will not be judged; do not condemn and pronounce guilty, and you will not be condemned and pronounced guilty; acquit and forgive and release (give up resentment, let it drop), and you will be acquitted and forgiven and released.

38 Give, and [gifts] will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you.

39 He further told them a proverb: Can a blind [man] guide and direct a blind [man]? Will they not both stumble into a ditch or a hole in the ground?

40 A pupil is not superior to his teacher, but everyone [when he is] completely trained (readjusted, restored, set to rights, and perfected) will be like his teacher.

41Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye but do not notice or consider the beam [of timber] that is in your own eye?

42 Or how can you say to your brother, Brother, allow me to take out the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the beam that is in your own eye?
You actor (pretender, hypocrite)! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

43 For there is no good (healthy) tree that bears decayed (worthless, stale) fruit, nor on the other hand does a decayed (worthless, sickly) tree bear good fruit.

44 For each tree is known and identified by its own fruit; for figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor is a cluster of grapes picked from a bramblebush.

45 The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks.

46 Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not [practice] what I tell you?

47For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words [in order to heed their teaching] and does them, I will show you what he is like:

48 He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a rock.

49 But he who merely hears and does not practice doing My words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it collapsed and fell, and the breaking and ruin of that house was great.

Cross references:
A. Luke 6:1 : Deuteronomy 23:25
B. Luke 6:2 : Exodus 20:10; 23:12; Deuteronomy 5:14
C. Luke 6:4 : Leviticus 24:9

Love your enemies
Do good to those who hate you
Bless those who curse you
Pray for those who ill treat you
If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also
If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic
Give to everyone who asks you
If anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back
Do to others as you would have them do to you
Do good to your enemies
Lend to your enemies without expecting to get anything back
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful
Do not judge
Do not condemn
Give a good measure when you give
Let's follow these rules and show ourselves kind

~ 49 But he who merely hears and does not practice doing My words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it collapsed and fell, and the breaking and ruin of that house was great.

Pharisees asked Jesus why he was doing what was not permitted on the Sabbath ~ the fruit from this 'Pharisee tree’ was using the Sabbath watching for rule breaking. When they were corrected with Jesus’ right judgement, it only made them angrier and to seek more vengeance.

Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor (a treacherous, basely faithless person) was chosen by Jesus, after prayer. Sometimes when we pray, we wonder, didn't God hear our prayer? Jesus withdrew to a quiet place to pray about the disciples. Even though the ruin of Judas Iscariot’s house was great, Jesus’ prayer about the disciples was answered by our Father. Jesus wanted to do what the Father wanted for Him.

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Mark 3 ~ And He answered them, "Who are my mother and brothers?"

Mark 3

1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, “You are the Son of God.” 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.

13 And he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 14 And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach 15 and have authority to cast out demons. 16 He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); 18 Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. 21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” 23 And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. Then indeed he may plunder his house.

28 “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

~ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and brothers?”

Jesus gave his disciples words his disciples considered to be too difficult.

Luke 9: 62
Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

A man came to Jesus and said he’d kept all of the law since his youth.

Mark 10:20-23

“Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."

21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

22At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Jesus wasn’t a crowd pleaser. The crowd wanted to stone the woman for adultery. We know the ancient Jews stoned people for serious lawbreaking, but we know from human nature –this can be entertainment.

John 8:6-11

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you"

At that point, the woman could have gone home and counted herself very fortunate. But Jesus isn’t finished with her.

John 8:11

Jesus declared, "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, could have chosen a sumptuous life on earth and God, His Father, would have given it to Him. Instead Jesus came to do hard work, to let people understand the nature of the God the Father.

Matthew 11:8-10

What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. 9Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is the one about whom it is written:

" 'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'

Jesus could have leaned into the woman’s face and said go home, you’ve had a terrible day. But he did not. Jesus expected her to learn from her mistakes and rejoice in her redemption. Like a good Father. The name of the women found in adultery isn’t remembered. She is redeemed in Jesus Christ and is remembered for her redemption.

Jesus’ family wasn’t given a free pass. Given the nature of God, this wasn’t easy for Him. Jesus forgave the people who terribly killed Him, it must have been difficult for Him to publicly let them know their place in His Father’s kingdom. He expects his followers to seek God when it isn’t always comfortable.

The young man who had lived a pure life under the law still failed. Jesus provided for him, in his failure, as well:

Mark 10:20-27

"One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

22At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"

24The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?

"27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

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Leviticus 20 ~ You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own

Monastary of the Transfiguration, also known as St. Catherine's Monastery, located at Mt. Sinah, Egypt. Mt. Sinah is believed to be the biblical Mt. Sinah were Moses was given the 10 commandments and saw the burning bush, while still a shepherd.

The oldest record of monastic life at Sinai comes from the travel journal of a woman named Egeria about 381-384 AD. This monastery has been called the oldest working Christian monastery in the world. The monastery library preserves the second largest collection of early codices and manuscripts in the world, outnumbered only by the Vatican Library. Jesus Christ told us what is the most important part of all the books contained here.

Leviticus 20

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Say to the Israelites: 'Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the community are to stone him. 3 I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people; for by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary and profaned my holy name. 4 If the people of the community close their eyes when that man gives one of his children to Molech and they fail to put him to death, 5 I will set my face against that man and his family and will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech.

6 " 'I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.

7 " 'Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.

9 " 'If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head.

10 " 'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

11 " 'If a man sleeps with his father's wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

12 " 'If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads.

13 " 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

14 " 'If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you.

15 " 'If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal.

16 " 'If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

17 " 'If a man marries his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off before the eyes of their people. He has dishonored his sister and will be held responsible.

18 " 'If a man lies with a woman during her monthly period and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it. Both of them must be cut off from their people.

19 " 'Do not have sexual relations with the sister of either your mother or your father, for that would dishonor a close relative; both of you would be held responsible.

20 " 'If a man sleeps with his aunt, he has dishonored his uncle. They will be held responsible; they will die childless.

21 " 'If a man marries his brother's wife, it is an act of impurity; he has dishonored his brother. They will be childless.

22 " 'Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out. 23 You must not live according to the customs of the nations I am going to drive out before you. Because they did all these things, I abhorred them. 24 But I said to you, "You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey." I am the LORD your God, who has set you apart from the nations.

25 " 'You must therefore make a distinction between clean and unclean animals and between unclean and clean birds. Do not defile yourselves by any animal or bird or anything that moves along the ground—those which I have set apart as unclean for you. 26 You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

27 " 'A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.'

Psalm 8:4
What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

Do you know, or are you one of the millions, who like to sing to "Alice’s Restaurant"? The song, written by Arlo Guthrie in 1967, lasts 18 minutes and 34 seconds. It was written & is a true story of Arlo and his friend Richard Robbins arrested for illegally dumping some of Alice's garbage after discovering that the town dump was closed for the holiday.

Much, much, much later in the song Arlo is called for a draft summons. He is asked by the Sergent if he has ever committed a crime. When he explains yes, for the garbage dumping, the song says:

“Kid, I want
you to go and sit down on that bench that says Group W .... NOW kid!!"

And I, I walked over to the, to the bench there, and there is, Group W's
where they put you if you may not be moral enough to join the army after
committing your special crime, and there was all kinds of mean nasty ugly
looking people on the bench there. Mother rapers. Father stabbers. Father
rapers! Father rapers sitting right there on the bench next to me! And
they was mean and nasty and ugly and horrible crime-type guys sitting on the
bench next to me. And the meanest, ugliest, nastiest one, the meanest
father raper of them all, was coming over to me and he was mean 'n' ugly
'n' nasty 'n' horrible and all kind of things and he sat down next to me
and said, "Kid, whad'ya get?" I said, "I didn't get nothing, I had to pay
$50 and pick up the garbage." He said, "What were you arrested for, kid?"
And I said, "Littering." And they all moved away from me on the bench
there, and the hairy eyeball and all kinds of mean nasty things”

The song is a riot, and pardon me for picking out just one section. If we know we don’t want to spend time in jail, or on bench W, with Mother rapers, Father stabbers and Father rapers, it is amazing to me that God wants to love us and wade into the midst of the humanity. I look over the list of Leviticus 20 and some of those things just aren’t part of my life! Because God loves us, He has placed Himself in a position of Father to some pretty awful things that I hope never to have to tell my kids, “don’t do that.”

Humans will read Leviticus 20 and become unhappy with the list of rules. We could argue all day if we agree with the rules, but these are the law. Jesus says He came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law with the Spirit of Truth.

Mark 12:28-31
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. 'There is no commandment greater than these."

I John 4:8-12
God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

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Mark 6:30-46 ~ the number of the men who had eaten was 5,000

North end of the Sea of Galilee. This area Scripture tells us Jesus traveled and grew up in (Capernaum, Cana, Nazareth, Bethsaida, among others). The photo clearly shows us why the children of Israel were told their promised land flowed with milk and honey.

Mark 6:30-46 (New International Version)

30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."

32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33 But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

35 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late. 36 Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."

37 But he answered, "You give them something to eat."
They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?"

38 "How many loaves do you have?" he asked. "Go and see."
When they found out, they said, "Five—and two fish."

39 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 They all ate and were satisfied, 43 and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

~ 44 The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

This miracle is more thought about than some of the others. People of small or non-existent faith say Jesus, as the great communicator, encouraged the people to place their own food in the baskets to share with each other.

In the 2nd century BC, the Essenes, forming a community in Qumran, began writing the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In 4Q521, the scrolls tell us what this religious community was looking for in the Messiah’s ministry:

"the heavens and the earth will listen to His Messiah, and none therein will stray from the commandments of the holy ones. Seekers of the Lord, strengthen yourselves in His service! All you hopeful in (your) heart, will you not find the Lord in this? For the Lord will consider the pious (hasidim) and call the righteous by name. Over the poor His spirit will hover and will renew the faithful with His power. And He will glorify the pious on the throne of the eternal Kingdom. He who liberates the captives, restores sight to the blind, straightens the b[ent] And f[or] ever I will cleav[e to the h]opeful and in His mercy . . . And the fr[uit . . .] will not be delayed for anyone."

~ Photo of 4Q521, Dead Sea Scroll. Found in Cave 4, Qumran. Written in 2 BC. The Essenes probably hid their papyrus away in 69 or 70 AD, before being destroyed by Titus' armies.

The Essenes believed the Lord and were a community of faith. They believed. They didn't meet Jesus, that we know of, yet they knew what the gospels would proclaim about the Messiah.

Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

If all things are possible with God, why is it any stretch of faith to believe Jesus could feed 5,000? The Essenes lived in isolation, never became followers of Christ, but believed the Messiah would do what Luke and Matthew said.

Luke 7:22
So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

Matthew 11:4-5
4 Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

The earliest gospel of Matthew is found in the Magdalen Papyrus (P64) in England in the library of Magdalen College. The fragments are dated between 30 and 70 A.D. Matthew reports he is an eye witness of Jesus Christ and wants us to know Jesus fed 5,000. Matthew could have reported Jesus, with amazing skill, had the hungry travelers share food and begin to establish His credentials of leadership to claim His Kingdom of Israel.

Yet Matthew reports Jesus fed the people because he had compassion on them! The Essenes would have understood this to be part of the Messiah’s, God’s, nature.


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Psalm 68 ~ Father of the fatherless and protectors of widows is God

Sycamore tree in Jericho

Psalm 68

1 God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2 As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
3 But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!
5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
6 God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7 O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10 your flock [1] found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

11 The Lord gives the word;
the women who announce the news are a great host:
12 “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—
13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
14 When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on Zalmon.

15 O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked [2] mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16 Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18 You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.

19 Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
20 Our God is a God of salvation,
and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21 But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22 The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23 that you may strike your feet in their blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

24 Your procession is seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25 the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them virgins playing tambourines:
26 “Bless God in the great congregation,
the Lord, O you who are of Israel's fountain!”
27 There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28 Summon your power, O God, [Your God has summoned your power]
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall bear gifts to you.
30 Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31 Nobles shall come from Egypt;
Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.

32 O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33 to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
35 Awesome is God from his [your] sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!


Deuteronomy 10:14,15

To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today.

The great wide path isn’t the path of the Lord. The Lord doesn’t ask us blend in with the crowd. He asks us to look for Him, to seek Him and to find Him. The Lord our God and Father asks for a personal relationship like Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus went out of his way to find Jesus and found Jesus. Jesus, teaching us about our Father, welcomed Zacchaeus with love and interest. Zacchaeus was jubilant with joy.

Luke 19:1-6

1-5 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

Also remember an important subject on family and fathers. One of Jesus' last words was to adopt John into His family by giving John His Mother. Then as Mary Magdalene found Jesus at the empty tomb, Jesus tells Mary, "Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" We Are Adopted into Jesus' Family.

Does God understand the challenges of not having an earthly father? Yes. God does. I know I do, my father left us when I was a teenager. It is heart wrenching to loose your dad.


Exodus 22:22
You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.

Job 24:3
They drive away the donkey of the fatherless; they take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

The Scriptures are written for you, here is what God says:

Job 29:11
When the ear heard, it called me blessed, and when the eye saw, it approved, because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to help him.


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Genesis 45:1-15 ~ And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.

Jesus Wept. Sculpted by Mike Scovel.

Genesis 45:1-15 (Revised Standard Version)

[1]
Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him; and he cried, "Make every one go out from me." So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

[2] And he wept aloud, so that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.
[3] And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph; is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.
[4]
So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, I pray you." And they came near. And he said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.


[5] And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
[6] For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.
[7] And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.
[8] So it was not you who sent me here, but God; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
[9] Make haste and go up to my father and say to him, `Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry;
[10] you shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks, your herds, and all that you have;
[11] and there I will provide for you, for there are yet five years of famine to come; lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty.'
[12] And now your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth that speaks to you.
[13] You must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. Make haste and bring my father down here."
[14] Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept; and Benjamin wept upon his neck.
[15] And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them; and after that his brothers talked with him.


John 11:35
Jesus wept.

By Dr. George C. Anderson

The good news in the story of Joseph is forgiveness. God wants us to know Joseph’s compassion didn’t come from a careless heart or a blasé heart. The good news of forgiveness is repeated when Jesus wept for Lazarus, "Jesus wept." God will get us from the valley of the shadow of death to the summit. He will meet us at our lowest place and stay with us until we get to a better place. He will meet us in our grief, in our fear, in our doubt, in our despair, in our dark depression. In Christ, God joins his cry to ours. He shares in our grieving so as to share in our rejoicing. God joins us in the verse "Jesus wept."

I say this for all those who may have lost loved ones months, even years ago, and who still grieve, maybe with added pain because others have gone on with their lives and have perhaps forgotten how much was lost in yours. There is good news in knowing the weeping came from Jesus Himself. By His grace, our sighs can become our prayers to the one who raised Lazarus and did not Himself remain in the grave. The Spirit of that resurrected One will join with our spirit and share in the sigh too deep for words and raise it as an offering to the throne of grace.

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Matthew 5:43-48 ~ perfection

Matthew 5:43-48 - Listen

43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

My friend - who is my walking buddy and dear, dear friend- we were discussing the subject of being kind to hateful people yesterday. This is not one of my better attributes. I personally like to be offended until a sharp verbal stick jabs out, as long as the hypocrisy is avoided. Avoidance of jerks is fine with me, as well. I think frenemies are unhealthy. So, I do not speak from perfect experience in loving my enemies.

My friend said she had overcome someone who was unkind in 6th grade by killing an outspoken jerk with kindness. She said the unpleasant girl used sarcastic comments because she was unhappy. I remembered something that always touches me: my best friend, in kindergarten, lived 4 houses down from me and the boy next door to her was a 6 or 7 year old. He was huge to us. Mark used to lurk in his front yard, with a hill, and when I’d leave to go home, he’d use try to body slam me down the hill. Several body slams for each evening. I was afraid of him, on that hill, he looked two feet taller than me.

One day, Mark was running up to me, slammed into me and I was falling back. In desperation, I reached around him and held on to him – like a hug. We were both very surprised. Mark looked so surprised, that instead of screaming like a caveman, his face worked with a lot of different emotions. Eventually his face changed to being pleased. And instead of continuing to bounce me down the hill. He swiftly left. I went home being very pleased with myself, instead of being afraid.

The next evening Mark charged at me yelling like a caveman. I waited until he was close enough and threw my arms around him. He was perfectly still and quiet until I let go. I smiled and started to leave, he waited for me to get about 15 feet again and began the stampeding screaming. I turned hugged him again and we repeated the process. It was an evening ritual (with a lot of smiling) for about a week, until some neighborhood grownup made a gushy comment of how sweet. That killed that.

The next evening, Mark was waiting, he really was puzzled. No more smiling. He was turning to go to his backyard and unhappy. He was leaving, I knew the game was over. I ran at him making caveman screams, he turned back with a ferociously mean face, and I opened my arms to indicate I was going to hug him. The unhappy look was gone, he really enjoyed running from me and screaming I was trying to hug him. This evening ritual went on a long time.

Several years later, the family moved. Because I was older, the neighbors told me the rest of Mark’s family life. Mark’s mother was an aspiring (& became famous) artist, what I didn’t know was, Mark’s mother put all her 3 kids outside after breakfast and they weren’t allowed back in the house until dark. Mark wasn’t just lurking outside, he was alone as it was getting to be dark.

Forgiveness is a process. Graciousness has to be acquired. If you are like me, and we are both novices at loving our enemies, we can both ask God to forgive us and to forgive them. We can pray for God the Father to help bring peace. We will look for His grace to grow in this situation. I know the people like Mark in this world would appreciate it.

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Psalm 51 ~ deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness

blud-gilt'-i-nes: Found in the King James Version in Psalm 51:14. The Revised Version adds Exodus 22:2,3; 1 Samuel 25:26,33. Ezekiel 18:13 indicating the phrase does not necessarily signify bloodshed, but any grievous sin which, if it remains, will block God's favor to His land and people. Psalm 51 is to be interpreted in this light.

Leviticus deals with the type of sacrifice needed for different sin. For the more severe crimes, like murder, the death penalty was given; then lesser offenses were given fines and excommunication. Evidently, God does not see all sin as alike to Him.

In the New Covenant, we are given the assurance: we are all sinners and God the Father reaches out to us in love, to forgive us. In Acts, sinners receive condemnation, even during this lifetime, for their sins. The first-century church witnessed these events knowing the Old Testament. They recognized God’s work among them was consistent with Scripture, which had so accurately revealed His character. At no point did the church feel compelled to offer the rationale: That was then; this is now.

In chapter 8 of Acts, one who sins asks prayer to receive forgiveness for his sin. Paul tells him to pray to be forgiven.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Psalm 51 American Standard Version

1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions; And my sin is ever before me.

4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done that which is evil in thy sight; That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me.

6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom.

7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

9 Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit.

13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

15 O Lord, open thou my lips; And my mouth shall show forth thy praise.

16 For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering.

17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: Build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

19 Then will thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, In burnt-offering and in whole burnt-offering: Then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

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Psalm 71 ~ You will restore my life again

Snow Drops. Even a child will be able to plant these flower bulbs & produce amazing results with little effort. With the first rays of sunshine, the green shoots of snowdrops start to emerge. These little flowers are used to pushing their way up through the snow. Snowdrop bulbs are tiny; it's great to spot them poking through the snow, and knowing that spring is only a few weeks away.

God is good on so many different levels. We know He gave us, freely, gave us, His Son, Jesus Christ, God brings us into eternity with Him. We know we have eternal redemption and peace with Him. We trust Him to bring us home and, also, to care for our loved ones.

God is also concerned with our lives, He doesn't just forsake us. He promises He will never leave us or forsake us. We may see many trouble in this life, but His Scripture fully assures us, He is with us helping and caring. Lent is 40 days. God gives us opportunity all the time to renew, regenerate & grow. We can rely upon God, His love doesn't change. But in Jesus Christ, we are new creatures and we can look at our sins, habits or patterns and seize His hope and opportunities to change.

40 days of Flood, 40 days of waiting for land - Genesis 7
40 days of Egyptian embalming for Israel - Genesis 50:3
40 days, Moses was on the mountain with God, twice - Exodus 24:18, Exodus 34:28-29
40 days, the spies of Moses (God did not ask for) looked at the promised land - Numbers 13:25
40 years, the children of Israel wandered after not seizing the promised land - Numbers 14:33
40 days Goliath mocked Israel - 1 Samuel 17:16
40 days, Elijah strengthened by one angelic meal went to Mount Horeb where the Lord passed by and he heard the voice of God - 1 Kings 19:8
40 days to repent, Jonah warned the City of Nineveh until God would overthrow the city.
40 days the people repented in those 40 days and God spared the city - Jonah 3:4
40 days Jesus fasted in the wilderness - Matthew 4:1-2
40 days Jesus was seen on earth after His crucifixion - Acts 1:3

Psalm 71
Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version


1 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.

2 Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness;
turn your ear to me and save me.

3 Be my rock of refuge,
to which I can always go;
give the command to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.

4 Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of evil and cruel men.

5 For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD,
my confidence since my youth.

6 From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother's womb.
I will ever praise you.

7 I have become like a portent to many,
but you are my strong refuge.

8 My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.

9 Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.

10 For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.

11 They say, "God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him."

12 Be not far from me, O God;
come quickly, O my God, to help me.

13 May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.

14 But as for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.

15 My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure.

16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign LORD;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.

17 Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

18 Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come.

19 Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
you who have done great things.
Who, O God, is like you?

20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.

21 You will increase my honor
and comfort me once again.

22 I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
O Holy One of Israel.

23 My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you—
I, whom you have redeemed.

24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.

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Deuteronomy 9:4-12 ~ It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land

Deuteronomy 9:4-12 (New International Version)

4 After the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, "The LORD has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is going to drive them out before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the LORD your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

7 Remember this and never forget how you provoked the LORD your God to anger in the desert. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the LORD. 8 At Horeb you aroused the LORD's wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you. 9 When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water. 10 The LORD gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments the LORD proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.

11 At the end of the forty days and forty nights, the LORD gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant. 12 Then the LORD told me, "Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt. They have turned away quickly from what I commanded them and have made a cast idol for themselves."


Wow. Technology is a good thing. So many people, when I google, have something wonderful to say about Deuteronomy 9. God’s message is so encouraging. We don’t deserve it, we can’t sustain deserving it, and God wants to overwhelmingly bless us.

When we believe Jesus is Lord, when we let His grace live in our lives, we are adopted in by Jesus Christ to being the chosen people of God.

Googling is a good thing. Some people just don’t love Deuteronomy; this portion of the bible lets us know we are a mess. Funny, I don’t see it as anything less than a blessing.

Deuteronomy sounds like parenting to me. When I was 6, I lost one (just one, mind you) very expensive and brand new shoe in a construction sand pile. The shoe loss occurred during a visit to a new friend, where I had never visited before. My mother attempted to recover the shoe, but the new mother, we didn’t know, shrugged, and said she needed to leave to go to an appointment. I could tell my mother was unhappy and it was promised to be a discussion with my dad when he returned home. The discussion said I should take better care of my belongings, not leave them somewhere haphazardly to be picked up later. I was told they knew I could be careful, I’d be receiving a new pair of shoes & they knew I’d take better care of the next shoes.

My parents did not shrug and say let’s get another pair of shoes tomorrow. They didn’t hug me and say what a sweet precious, of course, you need new shoes. It was a lesson on how to get a long in life. Learn from your mistakes.

What does it look like to be God’s chosen people? God has a passion for holiness; all of the law is to teach us how to live life. God’s people should want to love and choose Him. God chose to love us and He fulfills His promises to us.

What does it look like to let God know we choose Him? Today, I read about a family who reads the Scriptures, every day, they each pick a verse of what they read to write down and think about. We see God’s word with faith. We love the Lord our God with all of our heart and soul. Love our neighbor as ourself. We call upon Jesus Christ to save us with His forgiveness.

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Job 4:1-21 ~ if one ventures a word with you

If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?
But who can keep from speaking?

Job 4:1-21 (New Revised Standard Version)

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
"If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?
But who can keep from speaking?
See, you have instructed many;
you have strengthened the weak hands.
Your words have supported those who were stumbling,
and you have made firm the feeble knees.
But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
it touches you, and you are dismayed.
Is not your fear of God your confidence,
and the integrity of your ways your hope?

"Think now, who that was innocent ever perished?
Or where were the upright cut off?
As I have seen, those who plow iniquity
and sow trouble reap the same.
By the breath of God they perish,
and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,
and the teeth of the young lions are broken.
The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
"Now a word came stealing to me,
my ear received the whisper of it.
Amid thoughts from visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on mortals,
dread came upon me, and trembling,
which made all my bones shake.
A spirit glided past my face;
the hair of my flesh bristled.
It stood still,
but I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
there was silence, then I heard a voice:
'Can mortals be righteous before God?
Can human beings be pure before their Maker?
Even in his servants he puts no trust,
and his angels he charges with error;
how much more those who live in houses of clay,
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth.
Between morning and evening they are destroyed;
they perish forever without any regarding it.
Their tent-cord is plucked up within them,
and they die devoid of wisdom.'


My grandmother left me her little black book. I realized, fast, it’s a contradiction in terms when I was telling a friend how I treasure her little black book. Her little black notebook has her thoughts on her bible studies, filed alphabetically, by subject of her study.

Grandmother had a great page, in her little black book, (the page I can’t find again today) saying God makes His plans for us because He is The Lord. I remember it came from Deuteronomy, but today I can’t find it.

Romans 9:14-18, Exodus 33:19*
What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."[*]
It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

You have to love the book of Job; it is so relevant today: good intentions, poor discernment, wanting to please the Lord, laziness in communication, struggling to please the grieved, trying to do good, copping out, excuses & valiant effort. Job is, obviously, the Lord’s great bible book on the Lord’s will & overcoming suffering. Today, we are talking about discernment. And loving your neighbor as yourself.

It was surprising to me to read Job 2:3, God says this about Job:
Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity

Eliphaz is a contradiction, he is a loyal friend, praising Job, enduring through Job’s many disasters, but offering up advice from Eliphaz’s very own special vision. Eliphaz praises Job for his many efforts to strengthen others and gives the best advice possible – God is the basis of Job’s hope. But Eliphaz has judged Job as being unrighteous – someone who has deserved tragedy. Maybe Eliphaz is comforting himself, the disasters falling on Job will not fall on Eliphas, himself, because he sees Job as a man who has the appearance of righteous, but is a sinner. Eliphaz clings to a vision of rigid Religious Law, and refuses to see suffering comes to us all. Eliphaz clings to Religion instead of the hope of God’s redemption.

Before we kick Eliphaz to the curb, he should be praised. Eliphaz hangs in there and listens (sometimes poorly) to an angry, offensive and offended Job. Everyone I’ve talked to about losing a parent (as an adult offspring) is astonished this great hurt is treated by our fast-paced life as, more or less, a speed bump. It hurts at the time, but after the initial shock, we should move on. Many more people will ask, “How you are doing” after losing a parent, but not take any action like sending a note. I have been guilty of this myself, but realized after Isabelle’s death how much it means to receive a note written with a few thoughts on it.

Usually grief takes at least a year to recover from losing a parent. More like two years for losing a child, as I did. One of my peeves as a grieving parent is to be asked, delicately, how I am. When I reply, I say, “I’m pretty good.” That is a good description, I am not fine, and really do not care to lie. But I am tired of being asked and then receive a look like I am a damp spot on a bright day. It’s annoying. But I am like Eliphaz says, “If one ventures a word with you, will you be offended?” I don’t always want to be asked about grieving, but at the same time, don’t want Isabelle to be forgotten. With all grieving, help comes from the Lord. Psalm 121.

Eliphaz, a Jew, is more like today’s Jewish community, he understands it will take time to recover. No one in the Jewish community is expected to put aside grief like changing a tire. After the funeral is over, the crowds don’t pat the grieved on the back and depart. The calling, gathering, food and cards take quite a while before it’s finished. Mirrors are covered with black cloth, there is usually a black banded wreath on the door. What I appreciate about this acknowledgement of grief: the knowledge a human being – valuable to the Lord – isn’t swept away with a euphemism of celebrating their life and moving on.

We are fortunate knowing Jesus is the basis for our hope. We are fortunate knowing Job’s desire, never to be born, was healed, he began to see the blessing in this life again & found earthly redemption for his sorrow. We know the end of Job’s story. In Jesus Christ, we are assured there is a time of enduring peace and joy.

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