Philippians 2:19-24 ~ how it will go with me, and I trust in the Lord

Philippians was written during Paul's house imprisonment in Rome (his first imprisonment). He probably did go back to Philippi, Greece. Timothy was to go 2-3 or more times, recorded in Scriptures. Timothy, historians write, was eventually the Bishop of Ephesus. (Poor Timothy.) Living to the age of 80 or 90.
What the Circus Maximus - horse races looked like, the Christians liked horse racing and it continued after Constantine embraced Christianity.
Circus Maximus today. If you've seen the excellent Charlton Heston movie, "Ben Hur" this is where Judah Ben Hur would have raced in Rome.

Philippians 2:19-24

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I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son [child] with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

Timothy! Wouldn't we all like someone like Timothy, or lots of Timothys, in our every day life. Paul loves Timothy and calls him a son. Timothy is mentioned in the Bible 28 times.

When Jesus sent 72 disciples out, he sent them two by two.

Luke 10:1
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.


Timothy's portion, the 28 times he's mentioned in Scriptures, begins in Acts 16:

Acts 16:1-3
¹ Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. ² The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. ³ Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Timothy traveled with Paul (see the travel lists in blue below). It's great to learn of someone Paul considered to be his spiritual son. In Acts 16, Lydia, the seller of purple (like being the head of Harrod's in London, purple was only sold to royalty) is converted. Lystra, today Turkey, then Galatia, must have been a wealthy area. In Ian Wilson's book, Jesus the Evidence, he references a 1st century letter from a Rabbi Licanthra who asks a fellow Jew, how will they keep going as Jews when miracle after miracle keep happening in Jesus' name? Rabbi Licanthra is convinced that with so many miracles, he is concerned it is the end of their faith. He is concerned and unhappy.

2 Timothy 1:1-8
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,

² To Timothy, my dear son:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

³ I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. ⁴ Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵ I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. ⁶ For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. ⁷ For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. ⁸ So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner.

Paul doesn't see Timothy as perfect. He sees Timothy as someone growing in the Lord with faith. If Paul doesn't require perfection, Jesus doesn't expect more of us than we are capable of. Paul sees someone seeing how it will go and trusting in the Lord.


2 Timothy 3:10-17
You (Timothy), however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.

12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.


2 Corinthians 1:20-24
8 But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silas and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him it has always been “Yes.”

20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

23 I call God as my witness—and I stake my life on it—that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. 24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.


Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul's Second Missionary Journey (50-53 AD) - Acts 15:36-18:22, with Silas

1. Antioch (starting point)
2. Syria and Cilicia
3. Derbe
4. Lystra – Timothy joins the party
5. Phrygia and Galatia – Holy Spirit prevents them going to Bithynia
6. Troas – Paul's vision of the man of Macedon
7. Philippi – conversion of Lydia, thrown in jail, earthquake, conversion of jailer – Gospel goes to Europe
8. Thessalonica
9. Berea (Veria) – Jews examine scriptures – memorial of Paul's preaching
10. Athens – Paul preaches the Unknown God on the Areopagus
11. Corinth – Paul stays for 18 months, with Aquila and Priscilla, writes 1 and 2 Thessalonians
12. Ephesus – farewell
13. Jerusalem
14. Return to Syria

Paul's Third Missionary Journey - Acts 18:23-28:31, with Timothy

1. Phrygia and Galatia
2. Ephesus– Paul stays for two years, writes 1 Corinthians and possibly Galatians
3. Macedonia – Paul writes 2 Corinthians
4. Corinth– Paul stays 3 months, writes Romans
5. Troas – stays for 7 days; Eutychus and the nighttime meeting
6. Assos (Behramkale) – Acts 20:13,14 - Aristotle taught here
7. Mitylene
8. Samos
9. Miletus – farewell speech to Ephesians (?)
10. Jerusalem– imprisoned
11. Caesarea – Paul in prison for two years; Felix, Festus, Agrippa
12. Malta – shipwreck en route to Rome

Paul in Rome

According to early tradition, Paul was imprisoned in Rome in 53-62 AD (house arrest, able to have meetings, friends) and again in 64 AD (terrible dungeon). While in Rome he wrote the New Testament books of Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. According to the 4th-century historian Eusebius, he was beheaded in Rome in 67 AD.

1st column order in the Bible
2nd (column) approximate date written AD

52 (13): 1st Thessalonians
53 (14): 2nd Thessalonians
48 (9): Galatians
46 (7): 1 Corinthians
47 (8): 2 Corinthians
45 (6): Romans

49 (10): Ephesians
50 (11): Philippians
51 (12): Colossians
57 (18): Philemon

54 (15): 1st Timothy
55 (16): 2nd Timothy
56 (17): Titus
58 (19): Hebrews

The two ideas of Paul's timing don't quite agree.

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Genesis 37:12-24 ~ when Reuben

Genesis 37:12-24



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12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits [cisterns]. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery; the name means see, a son. The footnote is found at Rueben's birth, it was his mother's, Leah, commentary on her marriage.

Proverbs 14:22
Do not those who plot evil go astray? But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.

Poor Reuben. All those brothers stirred up like a lynch mob in a family of too many divisions. A friend of a friend still supports his father's many wives and children. Many jealousies, selfishness of the father, too many children to support, and the friend of the friend says we are so lucky to have Christian marriage with devotion and support for one family unit.

Reuben's heroics end when he lies to his father, Israel. It must have damaged Reuben. How much easier it would have been to have told the truth and looked for Joseph. God would have still found a way to promote Joseph. Not even the soap operas are this complicated.


Genesis 35:22
While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father's concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard of it.

Reuben became someone who understood the 'necessity' of deep lies. In Genesis 49, Israel is giving blessings to his 12 sons, starting with Reuben. It isn't the blessing an oldest son would hope for:

Genesis 49:2-4
2 “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, the first sign of my strength,
excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father’s bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.


Turbulent waters.

Genesis 30:3
Then Rachel said (to Israel), “Here is Bilhah, my servant. Sleep with her so that she can bear children for me and I too can build a family through her.”

How old was Bilhah? How muddied is the water that Bilhab sleeps with her sons' brother? Her owner/employer's enemies' son, it was... on going trouble.

Genesis 2:18
The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

The family being given money in Iran also have many complicated issues. The oldest son sends back a sizable portion of his income. His father married his mother as an arranged marriage, a really amazing marriage for his charming, good looking father, who was poor to marry an heiress. His mother had a promise from his father, it would be his only marriage. They had 4 children in short amount of time and lived in a beautiful house. Soon after the 4th child, a small house about the size of a two car garage was built on their property. His father came home with a 2nd wife and moved the first family into the new house. The first wife was enraged to be supporting such a situation and living in the small house. Her first born said she was consumed with hate and forgot her children. The wives hated each other. Four more children were born. Soon another little house was built and wife # 3 arrived. Wife 2 and wife 3 hated the hateful first wife. 4 more children, now 12 in total. Wife #3 was ousted by Wife #4. Wife 1 aligns herself politically with #4. Wife 2 and 3 are all now disillusioned, because 4 wives and 16 children are beyond their means. Children begin to go without shoes.

No one could believe it when another house and wife #5 arrived. #5 is much younger than wife #1's children. No one aligns with wife 5. Now children left without dowry, still in the house, are without basic necessities. The eldest son arranges cash to arrive to wife #2. He knows his mother is too enraged to share the money.

The money is used without the father of these 20 children knowing, it is agreed by all if he would go beyond the suggested 4th wife, more money would in front of the father would just create another 6th family. The father is now 60 years old with a wife in her early 20s.

The eldest son says he hardly had a mother or a father, and he says Christian marriage is the only loving, truly workable marriage. The eldest son is single by choice.

Ephesians 5:23-32

23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 "Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

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1 Peter 5:1-4 ~ not under compulsion, but willingly

1 Peter 5:1-4

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1 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

We can directly learn what Peter found from his experiences with Jesus.

Peter was introduced to the idea of Jesus as Messiah, before he met Jesus, by his brother Andrew in John 1:41. In Luke 5, the chapter in Luke where Jesus calls His disciples, Peter is having a tough day at work, fishing, and witnesses Jesus tell them where to cast the net and two boats begin to sink trying to pull the net in with so many fish.

Peter immediately falls to his knees.....

Luke 5: But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Not your typical - the answer is 'Jesus!' - Sunday School response.

Isaiah would have understood. Completely.

Isaiah 6:5
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

What would have drawn Jesus to Peter, the man - who was a fumbler. Peter never tried to hide from God Almighty who he was. Peter, honest to his core, believed more in his own goodness than Jesus did. Peter was so glad to meet Jesus. Overwhelmed by the King of Kings. Confused by what He said. Eager to be with Jesus, so eager he jumped out of a boat to walk on water to Jesus!

Matthew 14:28-29 ²⁸
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

.....It was Jesus' great opportunity, you know.... Jesus could have smiled and waived, laughed with the others, as Peter sank. "Bye Peter!" What a laugh, impossible to resist. Many people turn their backs on others when it is inconvenient to know them.

Jesus could have thundered, "Sinner. You are a stiff-necked, faithless man, convinced of your own goodness, eager for your own safety and glory!" And pointed at Peter until the water removed him from sight.

Not our Jesus. Our Jesus is our mediator, our advocate. Our Jesus saves. Our Jesus does not break a bruised reed, nor put out a faintly burning wick. How long did Jesus wait....

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” ³² And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.

Sometimes situations were difficult surrounding Jesus, it wasn't always healing and miracles. This completed what Simeon had told His mother Mary while he was a baby:

Luke 2:34-35
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”

Jesus once asked Peter if he wanted to leave. Jesus had a lot to say, sometimes it wasn't easy:

John 6:47- 68
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

...... The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.

67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”


Peter, painted by Ron di Cianni

Peter knew His Shepherd. After Peter betrayed the Lord during His trial, many would have slunk away permanently. Or gathered with the other disciples to further condemn Jesus for having placed them in danger.

Peter knew something important about His Shepherd. Peter knew he was loved. When there was a possibility Jesus had risen, Peter ran to him.

Peter and John Running, by Dan Burr Mindre

When Jesus began to appear to the disciples, after His resurrection, Peter was willing to jump out the boat for Jesus again. This time, he swam. Peter wasn't as convinced of his own goodness, but he was sure of his Savior.

John 21:7,9
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, "It is the Lord," he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.

When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them--fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

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Proverbs 25 ~ if you have found honey, eat only enough

Proverbs 25

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1 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.

2 It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.
3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
so the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 Take away the dross from the silver,
and the smith has material for a vessel;

5 take away the wicked from the presence of the king,
and his throne will be established in righteousness.
6 Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence
or stand in the place of the great,
7 for it is better to be told, “Come up here,”
than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

What your eyes have seen
8 do not hastily bring into court,
for [or else] what will you do in the end,
when your neighbor puts you to shame?
9 Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
and do not reveal another's secret,
10 lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
and your ill repute have no end.

11 A word fitly spoken
is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.
12 Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
he refreshes the soul of his masters.
14 Like clouds and wind without rain
is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give.

15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
and a soft tongue will break a bone.
16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.
17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house,
lest he have his fill of you and hate you.
18 A man who bears false witness against his neighbor
is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.

19 Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble
is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.
20 Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart
is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
and like vinegar on soda.

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
22 for you will heap burning coals on his head,
and the Lord will reward you.

23 The north wind brings forth rain,
and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
24 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
25 Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.
26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
27 It is not good to eat much honey,
nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory.
28 A man without self-control
is like a city broken into and left without walls.

~ It is not good to eat much honey,
nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory.

This would be amazing to most of the world. A lot of Proverbs is like this, over and over again God tells us to make the most of our time, not to be lazy. Yet God tells us all promotion, all gifts are from God.

Striving to go forward... away from countries where the leadership seeks only it's own glory

When we look at revolution, we don't see anything new in the world. Gandhi's revolution was peaceful and India exists today. Africa has tremendous amounts of tribal warfare, yet South Africa's Bishop Desmond Tutu & Nelson Mandela, offering a policy of honest admission of sin and forgiveness has stabilized South Africa. Tremendous results for faith combined with those seeking God and the desire to strengthen others in Him.

These were not despots seeking their own glory, not men seeking to promote their religion while sitting in fine palaces, without providing education, jobs, and kindness to their own, to women and orphans. A two class society of haves and have nots. Religion is false when works to help each other do not exist. Rules of faith seek only to bind to ideology, without hope.

Iran had fighting in 1979, briefly we believed it would be for democracy.

Looking back at France's revolution, it added to years of turmoil. Mindless hate with only the idea of change promotes nothing. Once started, revolution cannot usually be stopped. Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you.

But it requires the fighters to become tired of war. We haven't seen war yet, but I doubt many of these regimes will change without war. Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.

We don't know where all this unrest is headed, but to be glad of this much unrest isn't good; To assure each other it is just democracy at work. The situation really requires prayer.

Father God, you asked us in the Book of Psalms to pray for Israel, and we do. Let Your Light shine brightly there. After Jesus Christ's sacrifice, Father, You spread the Word around the world. Father God, we pray where there is need, You will fill it. When Hurricane Katrina hit, Father, the Churches of Houston, Baton Rouge, Dallas and others, as the body of Christ, met their need each day. Father, we ask for the people of God to meet this need in prayer. People who are hungry need food, You can provide. People who need work which brings opportunity and dignity need Your blessings.

Father God, we pray about the food shortages. The weather Russia had this summer killed crops. We pray about the huge amounts of corn put into ethanol and the shortage of corn and rice. Father God, we lift up to You the increase in cost globally for food.

Father God, in several places of Scripture You've said take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness. We pray for the leaders of nations to have the welfare of others determine their length of duration in power. We ask for Your justice and righteousness.

Father God, You are not limited as mankind is. We ask for Your help. We depend upon You, as all of mankind. Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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John 10:7-16 ~ the Good Shepherd

Holy Night by Antonio da Correggio, commissioned in October 1522, for a family chapel.

John 10:7-16

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7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Why would Mary, chosen by the Lord to be the Mother of God, be the best lay person example of shepherd? She was the first shepherd in the life of Jesus Christ.

Luke 1:38
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."

Mary believed God.

His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm

He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

Mary and Joseph had a seamless family in Nazareth; they were seen as good shepherds to the small town. A hard thing to do, not to favor or disfavor the Son of God. A difficult thing to return to Nazareth to raise kids - the lady who was pregnant during the betrothal. When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.


Mary had to live down even the Sanhedrin Council gossip still available in the 1st Century Talmud. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Still she lived in peace. And her family is recorded as being a seamless family, although blended. Jesus would agree with their parenting in the Scriptures.

Mark 6:2-4
When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Jesus taught God's love to His disciples:

Acts 10:34-35
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.


In Jesus' ministry, Jesus spent time with his own brothers and mother in the Book of John 2:12; in John 7 they are acting as siblings often do to each other. Yet in Mark 3, and Luke 8 they are beginning to worry about the trouble and Jesus' safety, Mary and His brothers determine to speak with Him and prevail upon Him for His own good. Jesus replies all who do the will of God are His mother and brothers. Mary isn't recorded again as to trying to impose her wishes on Jesus again. The Scriptures don't say if Mary went home and thought about God's will, but she was there for Jesus when she could be.

In the time of the early Church:

Acts 1:14
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Jesus told us:

Luke 11:28
Jesus replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

How are we to be God's shepherds?

Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me." ~ Matthew 28:10

Mark 3:33
"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."


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John 17:9-19 ~ I kept them in your name

This art used photoshop, the image of Jesus is using the unique qualities of the Shroud of Turin's ability to map Jesus' face in the 3rd dimension.

John 17:9-19

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9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.

13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one [from evil] . 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify [Set them apart] them in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified [may be set apart (for holy service to God)] in truth.

Remember the Prodigal Son, our Father God, has run to us! We are God's children, Jesus gave us the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. In Jesus Christ, our older brother, we are part of God's family.

The Scriptures are living and active. Today Jesus prepares a place for you, He mediates for you, loving you as you really are.

Ephesians 1:13
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit

I kept them in your name, which you have given me, I have guarded them

I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them

Psalm 42:7
Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.


Ephesians 3:17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.


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Ezekiel 1 ~ The Voice of the Lord

William Blake ~ The Whirlwind: Ezekiel's Vision of the Cherubim and Eyed Wheels circa 1803-1805


Ezekiel 1


Listen - click for new tab. ♥ A good reading to listen to.

The Living Creatures and the Glory of the Lord

1 In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

2 On the fifth of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin- 3 the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the LORD was upon him.

4 I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, 5 and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was that of a man, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had the hands of a man. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and their wings touched one another. Each one went straight ahead; they did not turn as they moved.

10 Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a man, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out upward; each had two wings, one touching the wing of another creature on either side, and two wings covering its body. 12 Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. 14 The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.

15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. 16 This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like chrysolite, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 17 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not turn about as the creatures went. 18 Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.

19 When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. 20 Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body. 24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.

25 Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. 26 Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. 27 I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. 28 Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.



No, this is not "Prepare for the Wrath to Come" Week on Scripture for Today Blogspot. A Feedjit Scripture Partner asked what is the meaning of Ezekiel 1. It coincides with a reoccurring bad dream I've had about a troubling time in my young adult years. It's interesting when you keep having the same bad dream and you begin to wonder, what is it saying. Especially when the trouble isn't part of the dream and there are bits of humor in it. I think partly it means that I am just another disciple of Jesus Christ wandering about, not understanding all of it. Eventually the sun (Son) will shine, the fog lifts and voila, the Holy Spirit was able to send that thought into the gray matter. My sympathies to You, O Lord. (Remember I am Your creation and be merciful!)

So what does Ezekiel mean? The Voice of the Lord is heard even when circumstance wouldn't suggest His there.

Ezekiel ~ The Book of Ezekiel mentions Exekiel only twice: 1:3 and 24:24. Ezekiel is a priest, the son of Buzi (“my contempt”)(what a name), and Ezekiel's name means "God will strengthen". (!) He was one of the Israelite exiles turned into slavery, settled at a place called Tel-abib, "in the land of the Chaldeans." Not the modern city Tel Aviv, which is named after it. He was carried away captive with King Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:14-16) in the first of 3 waves of captive taken.

Thanks to archaeology (all gifts are from God) we now know the date was March 16, 597 BC. This cuneiform tablet is found in the British Museum. These tablets are called the Babylonian Chronicles.

According to other Jewish literature, Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, is said to have been a descendant of Joshua by his marriage with the well-known, well-spoken of, prostitute and gentile Rahab (Talmud Meg. 14b; Midrash Sifre, Num. 78). Until recently, most Ezekiel scholars were primarily interested in discussing whether the Book of Ezekiel should be included in the Biblical canon. There was concern 'unlearned' Jews or Christians might misinterpret the book. Historically, the first chapter was not to be read in synagogues and the private reading of the prophecy was not allowed until a person's 30th birthday. So, read today's reading with zeal! I recommend listening to it.

Surely William Blake's painting today has some of the feel of Ezekiel! A man, a priest, taken captive in the 1st of 3 roundups, enslaved in the collapse of Judah. In the middle of complete and utter hopelessness, Ezekiel vision, in the amazing power of the Holy Spirit, realizes this is not hell! The absence of God. These children of Israel are still in God's palm. Far from allowing Judah and God's people to place Him in a box and behind a curtain; His right hand giving them His discipline and His path. They are not forgotten, but will be remembered in God's mercy. Hope for them as well. Ezekiel's vision is God, giving hope to His people.

It is vastly important to realize how unique this portion of time is. (T.R.O.U.B.L.E) The most prolific amounts of Scripture are written from the 2nd captivity of the Children of Israel. How would we ever know the thrill of victory without the agony of defeat? It would just be another day of sunshine in the desert. Just as the Children of Israel, now had the capacity to look up from their chains, God will not be kept in a box behind a curtain. In History, it is unheard of that an entire country of slaves are returned to an obliterated nation to rebuild. Nothing is too hard for God.

Deuteronomy 31:8
It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Matthew 28:20
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age

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Psalm 102 ~ the name of the Lord

Psalm 102

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1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
2 Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!

3 For my days pass away like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.
4 My heart is struck down like grass and has withered;
I forget to eat my bread.
5 Because of my loud groaning
my bones cling to my flesh.
6 I am like a desert owl of the wilderness,
like an owl of the waste places;
7 I lie awake;
I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.
8 All the day my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread
and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger;
for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.

12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;
you are remembered throughout all generations.
13 You will arise and have pity on Zion;
it is the time to favor her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For your servants hold her stones dear
and have pity on her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord builds up Zion;
he appears in his glory;
17 he regards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer.

18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
19 that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
20 to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die,
21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the Lord,
and in Jerusalem his praise,
22 when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

23 He has broken my strength in mid-course;
he has shortened my days.
24 “O my God,” I say, “take me not away
in the midst of my days—
you whose years endure
throughout all generations!”

25 Of old you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you will remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away,
27 but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.

Where will you be? Tomorrow, 5 years from today. My mother came to visit on her 72nd birthday, she said it was a great birthday! She had advice for me. Someone asked her what she did for her 52nd birthday, she said she had no memory of the day, but she knew for a certainty she spent her 52nd birthday worrying about being old. She said her advice was not to worry so much. An attitude of gratitude.

With an attitude of gratitude, the Name we call on in our time of need isn't a profanity. It says in Scripture, nations will call on Him.

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

Cease striving, as in let it rest.

Romans 8:5
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit

Proverbs 15:29
The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

Proverbs 31:25
Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

God provides.

Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
that he looked down from his holy height;
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth


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Psalm 138 ~ the Words of Your Mouth

Psalm 138


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1 I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing your praise!

2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word!

3 On the day I called, you answered me;
my strength of soul you increased [you made me bold in my soul with strength].

4 All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord!

6 For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and your right hand delivers me.

8 The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands!

When we read the Scriptures with our hands and souls open in prayer, we should notice as we read them, they speak to us. Sure some passages have a phrase containing a favorite verse and we will look to it as our favorite spot in our home or yard. Yet sometimes, you read a passage, and part of it leaps to you, your eyes are opened to the Scripture. 

When I've read Psalm 138, sometimes it Is the joy of God. Or another day, the thrill of a situation solved. In times of difficulty, the promise of the LORD who says to me, He would never forsake me, I am the work of His hands. This is the Scripture being living and active to us. 

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Last night I was part of the team that fixes the light meal for our Wednesday Church Service. It fits yesterdays readings so well!!! And today's! Let me share part of Clark's sermon with you:

You made me bold in my soul with strength

Matthew 5:15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

This is a true story. Susan opened her door one day to find her next door neighbor, Betty, there. Her neighbor said, "We've lived next door for some time, we haven't known each other well, but I've come to tell you we are moving away."

Susan asked if it was a job transfer. No, replied Betty, nothing like that. Susan was filled with concern with the look on Betty's face, Betty was staring at the floor with a woebegone, stricken look. Susan asked if Betty would share the trouble with her.

Betty said, "I guess the main trouble is my husband and I are hopeless alcoholics. We've tried therapy, but really don't have the money for years of help. We've tried Alcoholics Anonymous, but we can't find the strength to stick with the program. We are loosing the house, they are coming to take away one of the cars today. We will divorce. We just aren't good for each other." Betty's voice cracked. "If it weren't for my son, I don't know if I'd care, but I don't know what will become of him to be from such a broken home."

Susan said to Betty, quietly. "There is a solution."

Betty looked up to see Susan, "What solution would that be?"

Susan said, "Jesus heals people. Jesus saves people."

Betty replied, with some scorn, "Oh, religion. We've done that from time to time. Well, I mean I believe in God, but He hasn't been around much or seemed to care much really."

Susan said, "Well, you really want to change is what you are saying. Isn't it? You want help with all of your heart. You want the solution, isn't that the truth in what you are telling me?"

"I've never heard it put exactly that way, but yes. Yes, it is what I am saying." Betty said.

Susan asked Betty to ask Jesus into her heart. Betty said she didn't know how. Susan and Betty got down on their knees together and this is what they prayed, "Father God, I am a sinner and an alcoholic. I need You. I cannot give up alcohol on my strength alone. I need Jesus to come and live in my heart. I am about to loose my marriage, my house, my car and I don't know what to do. Please help me. Please help me to see a way forward. I ask for your help in Jesus' name. Amen."

3 nights later, their neighbor Bill, Betty's husband, came over. He said I understand Betty came over here. She is completely different and things are changing in my household. I don't know what you did to her, but I need that too. That night Sam, Betty and Bill knelt for prayer on their hard kitchen tile and prayed for Bill to have Jesus live in his heart. Bill surrendered his life to Jesus.

And what happened? The marriage was saved. Their son did not grow up in a broken home. The house was saved. The job was saved. Betty and Bill were saved. Forever. Eternally.

That is what Jesus does. He saves the broken, the bruised reed. The undeserving. He is the Light that Shines.

John 5:17 Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."

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

For great is the glory of the Lord!

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Psalm 130 ~ with You there is forgiveness

Psalm 130

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1 Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!
2 O Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

3 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
6 my soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
more than watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities!

"Morning Has Broken" a Christian hymn by English author Eleanor Farjeon, published in 1931, using the Gaelic tune "Bunessan" (tune also used as "Child in the Manger").

My family always plays this beautiful song at our weddings and christenings. Last Sunday, my family gathered together to celebrate with my husband and me - a 25th Anniversary Holiday Weekend; at Church, a God-incidence, this song was played. What a blessing to hear it! It was my dad's favorite song. He died after divorcing my mother just before their 25th anniversary. Decades of one of the most loving marriages was abandoned. He did, as so many fathers do in divorce, he deserted his children. Making poor choices, choices we wouldn't have wanted him to make, ending his own life in 1993. His last note to us said he was looking forward to God's mercy and dwelling with us in heaven. For us, it is quite emotional, reminds us of so many good memories of a lovely man who had an alcohol addiction. A man Jesus loves.

Divorce, infidelity, broken families, Alcoholics Anonymous, and Al Anon are things people bring when they seek the comfort of God. God's open door policy is come as you really are.

"Morning has Broken", Chorfassung; this one sounds more like our ceremonies:





Celtic Carillon, Scotland's national hand-bell ensemble, Morning Has Broken in Dunblane Cathedral



What is Psalm 130? It's twin Psalm would be Psalm 67 or

Numbers 6:24-27
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Psalm 32:1
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.


Psalm 67

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May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!

The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!


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Genesis 6:5-8; 7:1-5, 10 ~ the flood

Genesis 6:5-8


5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.


Genesis 7:1-5

1 Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you are righteous before me in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3 and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” 5 And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him.

Genesis 7:10

10 And after seven days the waters of the flood came upon the earth.

Flood histories in other countries:

~Sumerian Eridu (2150 BC) is “Zi-ud-sura” which means “he obtained immortality”.

~Persian, Gilgamesh (1150 BC) is “Ut-napištim” which means “he obtained immortality”.

~Sumarian, Atra-Hasis (1635 BC) is “Atra-Hasis” which means “he who is very wise”.

~Greek, Berossus (280 BC) of Atra-Hasis is “Ziusudra” which means “he who laid hold of life/immortality from long ago”.

~India, story said a fish told a man to build himself a boat, and when the flood receded, the man found himself on top of a mountain.

~ Africans told story of a rainmaker causing a great flood to destroy the wicked people.

~Some Native American tribes have an oral story about a great snow that melted and caused a great flood to cover all the trees and Rocky Mountains; the animals were all saved because a man put them in his canoe.

Geologists agree the world has evidence of flooding all over. We call it the Ice Age. Fossils agree there was a flood. The geologists have theorized a volcano eruption caused it, a giant meteor, the earth's axis tilted. Genesis, the early books, record water the earth received was a much different system than today. Almost all of the stories of the flood agree, the tablets found, the earth was wicked at the time of the flood.

What does this mean for us today? How is the flood relative to us today? We can become overwhelmed in our lives. Noah listened to inward truth to have a path for his life. God makes a path. So many things to think about, worry about; God has carried us through in our lives. He will continue to. When our time is past on this earth, we continue to put ourselves in God's promises, by believing Jesus Christ came to save us. And we will rest in His Kingdom.

Father God, we open ourselves to You in Prayer. For generations, millenniums, You've been a refuge. A shelter. Generations of our fathers rest with You. You will uphold us in Your wisdom. Keep us safe from the arrogance of small knowledge. You are mightier than we are. In Your Holy Spirit life is created. In Jesus, the Word of God, coming forth, You are the Creator of all things seen. Some of Your promises are unseen. Let us rest in You.

Sometimes, Father Abba, we are Noah, alone in a great sea and worried. We will cast our cares upon You, knowing You care for us. Eternally. The Kingdom of God is at hand. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Hallelujah! Amen!

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