Acts 24:10-21 ~ verify that

Marcus Antonius Felix

Acts 24:10-21

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10 And when the governor (Felix) had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:

“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. 11 You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, 12 and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. 16 So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. 17 Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. 18 While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— 19 they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”

Felix (Marcus Antonius Felix) already heard of the plot to kill Paul in the Acts 23. He was aware of the tensions between Paul, the Jews, and an substantial increase of people following the Way. For two years, Felix kept Paul as prisoner and spoke with him on many occasions. Felix was known to be corrupt and sought bribes, but Paul was clearly not offering bribes. Paul was now a missionary, tent-maker, and former aspiring Temple official with a good Temple education and good Temple name.

Felix is a historical figure with a a lot of sway - the heroes people were interested in before mass media were the politicians. They were all people talked of in their day and were famous. Felix's father was a Greek slave to Emperor Claudius and his 1st wife, Antonia Minor (daughter of Mark Antony / Marcus Antonius). His father was freed, Felix and his brother held fantastic Empire jobs for sons of a slave/freedman.

Felix was a rock star on jet pack ice skates. Fame touched this man from all directions. Felix's first two wives were both named Drusilla and both were very exalted noble women politically. Drusilla, wife 1, was a cousin to Emperor Claudius. Emperor Claudius' 4th wife was Felix's niece Aggripina Minor (who had a little nephew named Nero that Emperor Claudius became very fond of and adopted.) Druscilla, wife 2, was the daughter of King of Judea Herod Agrippa. These are the faces that would have filled the grocery store glossy magazines, if that had existed. Instead they had coins. When Mount Vesuvius erupted, his second wife and child were about the only 'famous' people who died while visiting Pompeii. When Felix was hauled to Rome to face charges of bad government, he didn't have a lot to worry about - Felix's brother was the Emperor Nero's man.

The Scripture ideas and discussions between Acts 23 and Acts 25 are really pretty entertaining. False accusations near the Holy of Holies (where the Ark of the Covenant does not reside), murder plots, nephew saves Paul by telling Centurion, Centurion pulls out the big Calvary to save Paul, they all know of the plot to kill Paul along the road to Jerusalem. Everyone pretends not to know. Felix asks Paul if he'd like to go to Jerusalem, while moving Paul to extensive guard to Herod's praetorium.

If you aren't interested, clean out your ears, wipe the sleep from your eyes - this isn't just adventure, but huge politics, the beginnings of Jesus Christ sweeping the continents without the benefit of mass media - people are interested in this Jesus of Nazareth. In 16 years, the Emperors of Rome are going to be very uncomfortable - doing and saying foolish things.

It is already starting here... the Temple is getting ready to lawyer up with High Priests, the Governor, Lysias the tribune, just to name a few. Delay of judgment to avoid being the enemy of some important factions.

22 But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.

24 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” 26 At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. 27 When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

Not just the big doings - look at the people involved. 'Paul - would you like to go to Jerusalem?' 'Why no, I believe I will go in the opposite direction.' The tremendous will of God is being accomplished just as easily as a conversation.

What was this Felix up to? Felix' history involves governing, a vague reference to putting down another Egyptian messiah claim. Felix feels Paul can help him to control the factions swirling around this Middle East situation. Paul has worn some powerful hats and Felix wants to know what Paul knows.

Felix has plans, Paul has plans, but God's plan is moving forward.

Two Years of conversations........It's interesting to remember Felix and the important question. Paul speaks of it immediately. What becomes of the people who have so much to do, so many opportunities, what is the real meaning? The question of 2,000 years ago is the question we ask ourselves of the people we would like to know the saving love and salvation Jesus Christ offers today.

Acts 26:28-29
And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.”

Jesus also dealt with long-term problems of faith and belief with a lot of the truth and grace the Father bestowed upon His Son.

Mark 9:21-27

²¹ Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.


Luke 18:1
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

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Psalm 87 ~ the city He founded

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

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

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

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

Apparently, he was right.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Psalm 87

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

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

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

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

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Psalm 46 ~ though its water roar and foam

Jordan River

Psalm 46

1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present [well proved] help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
he burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah




Niagara Falls



Jordan River



Jordan River reverses its flow during the Blessing of the Waters January 18, 2006 - the video is not clear and full of chatter - the reported events were by Fr. Milovan Katanic:

This specific video was recorded through a cell phone camera on the day before Epiphany Day in 2006, during the blessing of the waters which takes place every year on the same day in the Jordan, at the very same spot where Jesus Christ himself was baptized.

Those who have visited the Holy Land or those who plan to visit in the future, should know that when one stands on the Israeli side the current of the Jordan always flows toward the right. This can be confirmed by anyone who visits the Jordan at any time of the year.

"During the blessing of the waters, the same miracle is repeated (some years with more intensity) that, according to our Holy Church, occurred when Jesus entered the Jordan to get baptized by Saint John: “the Jordan reversed its flow!”

On January 2006, I had the opportunity to witness the occurrence of the miracle and along with more than 4,000 pilgrims from various nations, observed in awe this Great and Unique miracle, which was recorded with a cell phone camera by one of the pilgrims we knew and which we considered our spiritual responsibility to share with you as infallible evidence of our Lord’s presence amongst us.

During the ceremony which was led by Theophilus the Third, the Patriarch of Jerusalem (who was standing on the same bank with us, that is on Israel’s side), and by one of Jordan’s Orthodox priests (whom we were able to see on the other bank of the river, on the Jordanian side) the waters continue to flow as usual toward the right. However, as soon as the Patriarch and the Jordanian priest dropped the Cross into the river, chanting “En Iorthani Vaptizomenou Sou Kyrie” (that means “During your Baptism in Jordan, Lord”), the waters started mysteriously to bubble in places. The bubbling then spread, and the river developped two currents (!), one running to the right and another running to the left, with the two currents finally merging into each other! Eventually, after a few minutes, the miracle was completed! The new current was steadily flowing! The Jordan had reversed its flow like then, when God Himself was baptized in it and Blessed it!

This miraculous occurrence lasted (more or less) as long as the two Crosses remained in the river. Right after the Crosses were taken out, the Jordan started reverting to its original course (to the right) until the change was complete.

In the next few days the news of the miracle started spreading all over the world. For example in Russia, the news service “Interfax-Religion” reported the news as follows:

“Moscow, 24 January 2006: around 5,000 pilgrims from around the world became witnesses of a miracle, which took place in the holy river Jordan on Epiphany day.

Immediately after the blessing, the waters, the Jordan started flowing backwards, exactly as it did after Jesus’s baptism, as the daily newspaper Zhizn (Life) wrote.

At the very moment when the silver crosses were dropped into the calm waters after the blessing, the river started bubbling, and there was turbulence in the water, while the flow of the river was reversed for several minutes.

A yell of surprise and awe from the 5,000 people present enlivened the Judaic desert. People had difficulty believing what their very own eyes could see, exactly as it was 2,000 years ago, when Jordan reversed its flow the moment Jesus Christ entered its waters.”

With God all things are possible. Perhaps for us today, we should realize if the waters of our life are smooth and peaceful - God is there. If the waters are mountainous, roaring and foaming, God is there - in all seasons - Be still, and know that I am God.

Blessed be You, Father God, creator of Heaven and Earth. Blessed be Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Blessed be the Holy Spirit, hovering over creation in the beginning and today existing in all the people who believe You are the Lord. Amen.

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Ezekiel 26:1-14 ~ your walls will shake

The Bible promised Tyre would not be rebuilt.


Tyre - important Phoenician settlement on the coast of Lebanon. It was an offshore island and had a double harbor linked by a canal which allowed sheltered anchorage and a safe outlet whatever the wind direction. It wasn't until Alexander the Great that Tyre ceased to be an island. In ancient documents it was powerful and important,a famous trading center for purple dye made from murex shells, known as Tyrian Purple. Carthage inherited the leadership of the western Phoenician cities after Tyre fell to Nebuchadnezzar in 572 BC. On this occasion the city withstood a 13 year siege before it fell. The island was heavily fortified with defensive walls 150 feet(46m)high. In 332 BC there was another remarkable siege by Alexander the Great who finally succeeded by building a causeway permanently linking the island to the mainland.

Ezekiel 26 announces the destruction of Tyre (Ezekiel was the prophet who announced a head of time what Nebuchadnezzar would do) , Ezekiel 27 asks for a prayer for the beautiful Tyre. Combine the two chapters, you have a wonderful example of God's mercy.

Ezekiel 27:1-4

1 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
2 Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;
3 And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. 4 Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

Tyre, Lebanon today - the coast and southern half are devoid of population and are in ruins.

Ezekiel 26:1-14 ~ (Revised Standard Version)

In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me:

"Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, `Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken, it has swung open to me; I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,' therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers; and I will scrape her soil from her, and make her a bare rock.
She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets; for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD; and she shall become a spoil to the nations;
and her daughters on the mainland shall be slain by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD.

"For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers.

He will slay with the sword your daughters on the mainland; he will set up a siege wall against you, and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you. He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you; your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as one enters a city which has been breached. With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets; he will slay your people with the sword; and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.
They will make a spoil of your riches and a prey of your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters.

And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more.

I will make you a bare rock; you shall be a place for the spreading of nets; you shall never be rebuilt; for I the LORD have spoken, says the Lord GOD.

There are several cities in the Bible that were never to be rebuilt according to the Lord's Word like Sodom, Gomorrah, Nineveh and Ai. Some have suggested the Hittite Empire, Nineveh, Sodom, Gomorrah never even existed, in my lifetime, until archaeology dug them back up. Portions of Tyre are desolate ruins today. We looked at Ezekiel 20, this week, where the promises of the Lord to protect Israel came to an end because they had been practicing child sacrifice for financial gain to the false god Baal. The Lord swore in Ezekiel 20 He would scatter the children of Israel.

So many claim the "god of the Old Testament" was filled with wrath. This is uninformed. Judgment when God gives it is deserved. Jesus visited Tyre:

Matthew 15:21-28
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.


Then we read Zechariah 7 telling us the thoughts of our heart matter. Tyre provided David with trade, Solomon built God's Temple with Phoenician wood. They were probably more frenemy than enemy to Israel.

Lamentations 1:21
People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my distress; they rejoice at what you have done. May you bring the day you have announced so they may become like me.

Proverbs 24:17
Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice

Job 31:29
"If I have rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune or gloated over the trouble that came to him--

Why would the Lord have changed His plans for Tyre?

Isaiah 38:1-6
¹ In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

² Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, ³ “Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

⁴ Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: ⁵ “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. ⁶ And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

Jesus had something to say about prayer and hope:

Luke 18:1-8
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly

Jesus was known to be open to appeal:

John 2:3-7
3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”

God loves us.

Luke 18:1
1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.



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Zechariah 7:1-14 ~ by asking

The photo is King Darius with the Jewish captives being ruled to return to Israel and rebuild the temple.

Zechariah 7:1-14 ~ (New International Version © 2010)

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1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the LORD 3 by asking the priests of the house of the LORD Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?”

4 Then the word of the LORD Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’”

8 And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.

13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the LORD Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.

This is the town of Bethany - 10 miles from Jerusalem asking the Lord if fasting and mourning is needed because the captivity is over!

During the captivity many Scripture lessons were received: Jeremiah was studied, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Zechariah, Daniel, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, 1 Esdras, Tobit and the Book of Judith (all of these books were declared part of the Scriptures by the first Christian council, the Ecumenical Church, by the 300 bishops around the world who had faced persecution by proclaiming Jesus as Lord. They further risked their lives to travel to the council in 325 A.D. (Thee - St. Nicholas, the Bishop of now Turkey, was released from his imprisonment by Emperor Diocletian when Constantine called him to attend the Council of Nicaea.)

These joyous slaves returned as free people to first throw out the Samaritans who had been keeping worship going on the Temple mountain. (DNA studies in the 1960s proved the Samaritans are the tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Levi.) Also thrown out - the returning captives who do not have the proof of their lineage. They are no longer allowed access to the Temple for worship.

Judah or Israel is not a free nation. They are still a client state of the Persions. Most importantly, the Ark of the Covenant is still hidden where Jeremiah has placed it. 2 Maccabees 2:4-62 It is telling the Ark is not returned to the Second Temple. Zechariah begins to have visions of a coming second exile.

The work of Jonah taking the Word of the Lord to the Assyrian Nation is still God's work. God keeps telling Israel to ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

As always, the Words of the Lord are eternal, they are for us yesterday, today and tomorrow.



(The inscription below the carved relief is a Behistun Inscription, (also Bisitun or Bisutun, meaning "the god’s place or land") is a multi-lingual inscription located in the Kermanshah Province of Iran. Carved into a cliffside, gives the same text in three languages, telling the story of King Darius’ conquests, with the names of twenty-three provinces subject to him. It is illustrated by life-sized carved images of King Darius with other figures in attendance. The inscription is approximately 15 metres high by 25 metres wide, and 100 metres up a limestone cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia and Media (Babylon and Ecbatana). It is extremely inaccessible as the mountainside was removed to make the inscription more visible after its completion. The inscription was illustrated by a life-sized bas-relief of Darius, holding a bow as a sign of kingship, with his left foot on the chest of a figure lying on his back before him. The inscription and the Book of Ezra 6:14 have this in common: According to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. Ezra names all three of the Kings of the Persian empire.

I am Dârayavauš the king, son of Vištâspa, of the Hakhâmanisiya-dynasty, king of kings. I am king in Pârsa. My father is Vištâspa. Vištâspa's father is Aršâma, Aršâma's father was Ariyâramna, Ariyâramna's father was Cišpiš, and Cišpiš' father was Hakhâmaniš.

King Darius says: (72) King Darius says: Those Elamites were faithless and Ahuramazda was not worshipped by them. I worshipped Ahuramazda; by the grace of Ahuramazda I did unto them according to my will. (75) King Darius says: Those Scythians were faithless and Ahuramazda was not worshipped by them. I worshipped Ahuramazda; by the grace of Ahuramazda I did unto them according to my will.(76) King Darius says: [Whoso shall worship] Ahuramazda, [divine blessing will be upon him, both while] living and [when dead.]

Ezra 6:1-221

King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon. 2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it:Memorandum:3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem:Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be ninety feet (about 27 meters) high and ninety feet wide, 4 with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury. 5 Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God.

6 Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and you, their fellow officials of that province, stay away from there. 7 Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site.

8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of the Jews in the construction of this house of God:The expenses of these men are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop. 9 Whatever is needed—)

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Ezekiel 20:18-26 ~ a sign between us

Gate of Ishtar, during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar - now found in the Berlin Museum

Ezekiel 20:18-26 (New International Version)

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¹⁸ I said to their children in the desert, "Do not follow the statutes of your fathers or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols. ¹⁹ I am the LORD your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁰ Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God."

²¹ " 'But the children rebelled against me: They did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws—although the man who obeys them will live by them—and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in the desert. ²² But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. ²³ Also with uplifted hand I swore to them in the desert that I would disperse them among the nations and scatter them through the countries, ²⁴ because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their fathers' idols. ²⁵ I also gave them over to statutes that were not good and laws they could not live by; ²⁶ I let them become defiled through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn —that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the LORD.'

The book of Ezekiel - Ezekiel is a priest of Judah, in slave captivity in Babylon, during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Ezekiel is raised from priest to prophet as he explains why God has turned aside from His promises to Israel.

As they traveled away from Jerusalem, they crossed a vast desert. Children of Israel knew about desert, the Judean desert is part of Israel. Not only was Israel a land of milk and honey, but areas of desert - these are used to depict how barren a relationship can become with God.

God has never asked the Children of Israel to provide Him with child sacrifice. The people speaking with Ezekiel are asking why God's promises to them have failed. These are the same people who have practiced child sacrifice on altars for Baal up on the hilltops, a sacrifice made for financial hopes.

When we think of what God asks of us:

The nature of the Lord Most High. He is for everyone. He is worthy to be praised.
He isn't about Black-eyed Peas, don't step on a crack, wear a little bracelet with knots tied in it so many days, pray in this exact fashion, eat this diet, or wear your hair like this.

He does not ask you to sit up straight. He does not ask you to refrain from alcohol. He does not ask you not to dance. He does not ask you not to chew gum. He is not partial to one skin type or one color. He is not partial to one class over another. He does not say cleanliness is next to Him. He does not say that if you pay attention to Him at least once a week, He is pleased. God seeks a relationship with you. And asks time of you on the Sabbath. He does not ask you to seek wealth. He is more fond of wisdom and kindness.

Father God seeks you. Father God does not expect you to save yourself. He doesn't just put you off until eternity, He is part of this life. He wants your love and trust. He is for you. He chose to create you. He is about love, wisdom, loyalty, forgiveness and eternity.

The remnant would return to God's promises. The Scriptures are unique, held by and preserved by a conquered people returning from slavery to freedom; they understand, as returning people, they have earned God's judgement. History is usually written by the conquerors to whitewash any wrong, the children of God admit error and love the Lord for providing the reconciliation.

1 John 4:19
We love because he first loved us

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2 Timothy 4 ~ in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction

2 Timothy 4 ~ (New International Version)

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¹ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

⁶ For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

⁹ Do your best to come to me quickly, ¹⁰ for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. ¹² I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. ¹³ When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

¹⁴ Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done. ¹⁵ You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.

¹⁶ At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion's mouth. ¹⁸ The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

¹⁹ Greet Priscilla [Prisca] and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus stayed in Corinth, and I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. ²¹ Do your best to get here before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the brothers.

²²The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

In this analogy (spoken in English with Spanish subtitles), blessings of God are represented as a Coca-Cola. I shudder to realize how many times I act like this to the Lord.

How are you?

I'm fine, thank you; how are you?

Fine, thanks!

Another sunny day.

Paul isn't fine today.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Paul takes time to tell Timothy, it is wearing him down. Just as Jesus felt desertion, Paul feels it today, in this letter. Paul is his own example today of being God's Kingdom out of season. Notice the steps Paul takes to throw off his feelings of being downcast. He acknowledges his weariness to a brother in Christ. Someone he trusts. Paul asks for help, forgives the people who left him. Paul gives himself credit for his work and puts himself forward as a worker for the Lord. Most importantly, Paul puts his trust and faith in the Lord.


John 1:5
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Let's end today with the words of the Holy Spirit breathed out by Paul:

The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.





Jesus is my Rock, Reverend Gerald Thompson

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Luke 12:13-31 ~ Instead, seek His Kingdom, and these things will be added to you

Luke 12:13-31

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13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters ] 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [Consider the lilies; they neither spin nor weave] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his [God's] kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Money, anxiety, prosperity, our fair share, all the things people spent vast resources to learn more about. It's all in God's hands.

The county I live in is sometimes called "The Bubble". We have great numbers in the census, monetarily. We are predominately one party at the voting polls. We have exceptional public schools where the kids graduate and go all over the United States to fine, fine universities. Low crime. The population is probably going to double in the next 5 years. We have large, two story houses, sometimes with 4 or more living areas. Our largest businesses are home improvement places. We have one of the highest suicide rates in Texas, some say it is high for all the United States.

One's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

Primarily the suicide rate is high because the drug rate is about 50% of the High Schoolers. Sure it would be the milder drugs. This is probably echoed in adult substance abuse. Why do people misuse substances, use the mild or the addictive drugs? I wanted to know. The comedian, Robin Williams, says cocaine is God's way of telling us we have too much money. The information used by Alcoholic's Anonymous is a book called "Children Beyond the Yellow Brick Road." It says substances abuse is an immediate cure for feeling better. Drug use creates new friends, doing something 'cool', the high eases loneliness, makes people feel brave for doing something rebellious, lawbreaking, skating the edge. Nerds feel accepted. Cowardly feel brave. Lonely has new friends. Anxious feels soothed. Unfortunately, it is a false picture. False hope.

I've been privileged, recently, to have teenage friend in my life decide to turn her life around through an AA program. She credits her new faith in the Lord for her wholeness. She has stepped out at the age of 14 to pursue a life of wellness. She not only attends the youth programs, but she attends the adult programs. I've seen her so encouraged by much older women stopping, outside of meetings, to encourage her and praise her for making a choice to be well. God has blessed her, in each of her steps. The honesty of the teen conversations is amazingly truthful and supportive.

When I look at the passage, coming from a background of openly cynical Christians, I can see and remember in my childhood the scoffing over this passage. But it isn't false, it is real. I had two grandmothers. One was the widow's mite, giving her two pennies. People in my family have said this grandmother was cursed with bad luck. The other grandmother lived in an Antebellum house of her dreams. Both women were loving, loving, good Grandmothers. Only one grandmother was truly happy, the widow's mite grandmother. The paint stayed on her house only by the grace of God, but her house held up beyond her life. It might not have been a grand house, but it held a grateful, prayerful woman of God.

The most important word in this passage would be 'Instead' seek His Kingdom. These are that attitudes, beloved of God. It is the press of the physical straining against the soul to maintain the real truth of these two paragraphs. When you consider Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses it seems easier to grasp than rely upon God for our needs, rely upon God to worry for us. Yet the people who decide to trust the Lord, experience His peace.


Psalm 56:3
When I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.

Isaiah 41:10
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

1 Samuel 1:17
Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."

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Isaiah 2:1-5 ~ Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways

Isaiah 2:1-5 ~ (New International Version)

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¹ This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

² In the last days
the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.

³ Many peoples will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

⁴ He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

⁵ Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Oh, it is Beautiful.

Something is required. We must direct our path to the LORD. It our choice, each day.

What are the benefits of the LORD? Walking His paths, peace is pervasive. Disputes are settled before they become heart sores. We will plant and reap.

Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

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Luke 13:22-30 ~ Master of the House

Luke 13:22-30

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22 He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’

28 In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. 29 And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

There are days when the Scripture Reading - chosen from a list of places, prayed over and chosen before the passage is known - jumps up at me and there are so many gleeful ideas that it will be difficult to sort it and be coherent. Today! Today!

We'll begin with the reading with etwn.com and the quote for the day:

Concerning God, we cannot grasp what He is, but only what He is not, and how other beings stand in relation to Him. -- St. Thomas Aquinas

God alone is God. St. Thomas Aquinas was thought to be dumb as an ox at the beginning of his years as a Dominican monk. In 1245, Albertus Magnus said, "We call this young man a dumb ox, but his bellowing in doctrine will one day resound throughout the world." Thomas refused to be part of the Archbishop meetings the Pope requested, to continue his writing. After writing for years about how vast, perfect, complete God's nature is in the Trinity, he finally refused to write any more. Thomas was known to experience the ecstasy of God's communion and it was revealed to him God was so much more than Thomas had ever contemplated. On 6 December, 1273, he laid aside his pen and said: "I can do no more. Such secrets have been revealed to me that all I have written now appears to be of little value, my writings are almost like straw."

Don't we lack awe so much of the time in our generation? Surrounded by lights and images floating through the air and forming on our computer, our phones, don't we sometimes forget when we read a passage like Luke 13 how much God is the King?

I am not close to St. Thomas Acquinas in intellect, but live instead with gratitude to know even the great Theologian minds grapple with the grandeur of the Most Magnificent being so loving as to be part of my soul. To care for me, and I am but dust.

When we picture the LORD, don't we indeed have an image in our minds that would be familiar to us?

Look at the art. Thomas argued God was without form, but consider the diversity of Jesus' family. How will He recognize us? This passage, Luke 13 asks this exactly. If we teach in His name, take communion in His Church, how will He recognize us? What would it take to be part of Jesus' family, His Kingdom? Just as a small example of what we know of the Lord, Mitochondrial Eve DNA places the family of God to have origins in East Africa. Perhaps Adam & Eve were created in the image of a Black God. King David, God's anointed is ruddy - a redhead - 1 Samuel 17:41. Revelation 1:14 gives us Jesus having white hair.

Isaiah 53:2
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.


Daniel 7:9
“As I looked,
thrones were placed,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat;
his clothing was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames;
its wheels were burning fire.

Abraham was from Turkey. Jacob is the birthright thief. Judah slept with his daughter-in-law, Tamar, thinking she was a prostitute. Judah admited the greater fault in his own righteousness, in not giving Tamar fulfillment of his word. Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Rahab, the prostitute mentioned generations after she lived, in the Book of Hebrews. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. Boaz, her son, was a wealthy old man, giving compassion to the foreigner, the poor and the elderly. Ruth is from Moab - today's Jordan, in the Bible a descendant of Lot, a child of incest. King David, King Hezekiah, King Josiah - mighty men who followed the Lord. Jesus descended from the slaves held by Nebuchadnezzar.

We worship God Almighty. Diverse. Magnificent. Who says, strive to enter through the narrow door. The Master of the House.

1 John 2:5
But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him

Psalm 119:9 ~ King James Bible
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

Revelation 3:20-22
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

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