Psalm 69 ~ deliver me from sinking in the mire; let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters.

Psalm 69

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

1 Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck [waters threaten my life].
2 I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
and the flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary with my crying out;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.

4 More in number than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
must I now restore?
5 O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
O Lord God of hosts;
let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,
O God of Israel.
7 For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my mother's sons.

9 For zeal for your house has consumed me,
and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and humbled [lacks and humbled ]my soul with fasting,
it became my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12 I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
and the drunkards make songs about me.

13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
At an acceptable time, O God,
in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14 Deliver me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
15 Let not the flood sweep over me,
or the deep swallow me up,
or the pit close its mouth over me.

16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17 Hide not your face from your servant;
for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18 Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies!

19 You know my reproach,
and my shame and my dishonor;
my foes are all known to you.
20 Reproaches have broken my heart,
so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none,
and for comforters, but I found none.
21 They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

22 Let their own table before them become a snare;
and when they are at peace, let it become a trap
[a snare, and retribution and a trap].
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
and make their loins tremble continually.
24 Pour out your indignation upon them,
and let your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their camp be a desolation;
let no one dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27 Add to them punishment upon punishment;
may they have no acquittal from you.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

29 But I am afflicted and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, set me on high!

30 I will praise the name of God with a song;
I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32 When the humble see it they will be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion
and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
36 the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

I live in an area of the country referred to as a Bubble. Having grown up in Dallas (not the suburbs of Houston), I know for a fact many other areas of the country are also called The Bubble. Pretty houses, comfortable lawns, quiet neighborhoods, good schools. We had 24 Christian Churches come together for a time of prayer, one Sunday in January, after several weeks of fasting to come together and pray for our peaceful community.

One of the ministers stood up and said that he and his fellow ministers often say "All is not perfect behind the trees" of our community. It would seem like it is. We have low crime. Our employment rates are reasonable. Yet we have a pretty high suicide rate and a very high motor vehicle accident rate. Probably something to do with the trees. And substance abuse. People are lonely. I can tell as I walk through my community, the houses are well cared for, but not bustling with friends visiting as I grew up seeing.

How are you? I'm fine. I suppose it's polite and better than not speaking, but. .

Today is a beautiful summer day. And Psalm 69 comes as something different than my peaceful day. But I tell you what, I really appreciate the fact that this Psalm is Real. This is a man who had seen Trouble. Not a careful God-given access to the best life-events-schools-skills elevator.

David says that all the people skills in the world will not make life smooth all the time.

Can you imagine going to the Tabernacle with the rest of Israel to worship, after David is King and hearing this poetry/worship/reality as part of worship? I think people would be rather shocked. I remember when Jimmy Carter was elected, people were shocked he was not going to go by James Carter or Jim Carter.

David says it just doesn't matter, in depth, if you are up or down in life. He says life will revolve both ways for all of us. David says what is important is knowing God loves you. The promises of God are for you. David says regardless of what you own and what owns you, you are in wisdom, happiness, and good favor when you know God holds you in His promises. Paul agreed. Paul said when we look at trouble as temporary and look to see what God will do with these things to His glory, we find the happiness that can be elusive. God agrees, the Holy Spirit breathing out Scripture.

David says being at ease can be a trap. David found this out himself. Paul said to find contentment in all circumstances.

1 Thessalonians 5:18
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you


<><


+

Other Scripture for Today Blogspot readings on Psalm 69
February 4, 2011


<><

Psalm 70 ~ May all who seek thee rejoice and be glad in Thee

Psalm 70

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
2 Let them be put to shame and confusion
who seek my life!
Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
3 Let them turn back because of their shame
who say, “Aha, Aha!”

4 May all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
say evermore, “God is great!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay!


David had many times where his life seemed in turmoil. He looked for the Lord for help. Mighty David, admitted to the Lord, he was needy and poor. The Lord heard his cry and helped him. David was anointed of God, but not perfect. David had the advantage of being told by a mighty prophet of God that it would all turn out well, many times David wondered about that, just as Abram wondered if God would fulfill His word to Abram.

Wouldn't we all like a personal word given to us by our Father God? When we read the Scriptures, God is giving us His Word. Faith - God means what He says. Hope - He means me! Love - all there ever was, God directs towards you, His endless supply. Causing the disciple John - who had personally witnessed God's glory to Jesus Christ in the transfiguration - to write 18 times in his Gospel about the Glory of God. John went on to say: God is Love!

<><

2 Samuel 4:1-12 ~ David answered

2 Samuel 4:1-12

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

When Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed. 2 Now Saul's son had two men who were captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab, sons of Rimmon a man of Benjamin from Beeroth (for Beeroth also is counted part of Benjamin; 3 the Beerothites fled to Gittaim and have been sojourners there to this day).

4 Jonathan, the son of Saul, had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled, and as she fled in her haste, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

5 Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ish-bosheth as he was taking his noonday rest. 6 And they came into the midst of the house as if to get wheat, and they stabbed him in the stomach. Then Rechab and Baanah his brother escaped [The ancient Greek Septuagint adds And behold, the doorkeeper of the house had been cleaning wheat, but she grew drowsy and slept]. So Rechab and Baanah his brother slipped in ] . 7 When they came into the house, as he lay on his bed in his bedroom, they struck him and put him to death and beheaded him. They took his head and went by the way of the Arabah all night, 8 and brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron.

And they said to the king, “Here is the head of Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life. The Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring.”

9 But David answered Rechab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, “As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity, 10 when one told me, ‘Behold, Saul is dead,’ and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. 11 How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous man in his own house on his bed, shall I not now require his blood at your hand and destroy you from the earth?” 12 And David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hanged them beside the pool at Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.

When I think of David, working out God's plan and waiting for God to make it work, I really didn't remember, after Saul's death, Ish-bosheth had been crowned King of Israel at age 40 (2 Samuel 2:10). Making David the third King of Israel.

If you are old enough (radio/tv) you remember the Lone Ranger started out by saying: Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear. Where was David's golden ride into kingship? These men act like Clemenza: It's a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes.

The thrilling days when Israel was truly God's glory shining on earth. The Scriptures aren't Pollyanna sweet. David dealt with all kinds of characters, trying mostly to take the High Road himself. Abner, Saul's nephew and general, had made peace with David in the last chapter. David gave clemency, but his general killed Abner after Abner threw in his support for David.

The events swirling around David were far from ideal, but David mostly does his best doing what God would want. Real life, real challenges. More than Sunday School stories.

If this were a television program, about now the narrator would smoothly suggest David had complete control over the Biblical portions as he did the Tabernacle of the Lord. This was true of the non-davidic king, who did control the selection of priests, Herod. It did not end well for Herod. Any of the Herods. Yet if when you read I & II Samuel, all of Kings and all of Chronicles, you see the spin factor did not have control over the guilt or innocent of the kings. Even Ecclesiastes is very honest about the mistakes made by Solomon, who took David's shiny, new kingdom, used it as his playground, and personal display, and had it split before David's grandson could have time to shape his own kingdom.

This passage is also a reminder what Jesus, the Son of God, would have had to endure as an earthly king. Instead we see Jesus as the healer, the reconciler of God and man. Not dealing with people being disemboweled and beheaded. Jesus returning the ear of the man's slave who came to destroy Jesus. Jesus offering all generations forgiveness from the cross He bore for us.

Psalm 17:8
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings

Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.


<><

Psalm 84 ~ For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere

Psalm 84

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

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

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

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

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

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

You might remember I've told you about our friends, my father's high school friend; who moved to our town just as my father divorced my mother and became a many-years family friends to my mother. They helped my mom, and her two children, move into our duplex we had rented out for years. And they moved to live near us and my brother did not have to be a latch key child because of them. Going with us to eat Mexican food every Friday night with us when I am sure we were not cheerful, good fun. They joined our Church. And gave me my first job at the Dallas World Trade Center, being so patient with a first time worker.

Very recently their youngest of 4 children, in his 40's, who had fought for so many years for sobriety with a bi-polar diagnosis, took his own life. And my Church family, here where I live as an adult, sent them a hand knit prayer blanket. Knitted with three stitches representing our Father, Holy Spirit and Savior. All the ladies of the Tuesday Night Bible Study signed the card until the card could not hold more ladies wanting to comfort them. I sent along a long letter telling them what I knew of grief recovery group therapy having grieved and recovered from my dad's death and my stillborn daughter, Isabelle.

Last night the phone rang, it was our dear friend. Crying so hard, yet I knew who she was. I had wondered if you could recover from loosing a son to suicide being older. Then we began to talk of her reading list. Our dear, sweet friend began to tell me of the books she has been reading relating Heaven verses of the Bible. What she has learned. Her voice became positive and strong.

She related her utter devastation and she wondered why God was absent the first two weeks. I said I thought that when we are so stricken, it's hard to listen to anyone, much less our own soul. She told me she'd had the strangest experience with her vision the week of the funeral. She could see faces, but her peripheral vision was like a smoke filled room. She thought to herself this is the damnedest time to loose my vision. And she was glad that at least she could see people's faces.

As this precious woman began to read books on Heaven, she realized something important about that cloud lifted from her vision. She could not feel God, she was stricken. Yet He was with her.

1 Kings 8:10-11
When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. 11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.

Isaiah 6:3-4
And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

Revelation 15:8
And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power

I realized having visited with this child of God for an hour, she would live to dwell in hope, she would recover from something tragic. We have available to us this hope in Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:13
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

~ O Lord of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Blessed are You most merciful Father. Blessed are those comforted in You.

<><

+

Other Scripture for Today Blogspot readings on Psalm 84:
July 23, 2010

<><

Matthew 8 ~ Jesus saw a crowd around Him

Painted by Jacopo Bassano (1510-1592)

Matthew 8

Listen - click for new tab

1 When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. 2 And behold, a leper [term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13] came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 3 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, 6 “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” 7 And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant [bondservant], ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

14 And when Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. 15 He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve him. 16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” 20 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 21 Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 22 And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”

28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes [Gergesenes; some Gerasenes], two demon-possessed [Greek daimonizomai; also verse 33; elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons] men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

We live in a time where everything moves quickly. Even movies don't give you a chance to say,"What did they say?" ....And we have had a scene change.


When the New York Times Bestseller author, M. Scott Peck,M.D., wrote the 'The Road Less Traveled" he was still in the infancy of His Christ relationship. He'd begun as a Christian/Buddhist/Carl Yung enthusiast, but as he really broke bread with the Gospels (he said if he was going to refer to the Bible -he felt he should know something of it), he met Jesus. He remembers thinking, why didn't anyone tell me Jesus had personality? Every page of the Gospels brought him closer to Jesus. This was God, this was a man.

The real Jesus. Jesus walking through this life..... Jesus attitudes - I will - be clean. Not maverick Jesus, not I am God - watch me strut - but ... go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.

I will come to heal him.

When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Jesus entered Peter's house, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her.....

“He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”


Not the way we portray our fictitious superheroes. When Jesus was tired, pressed upon, He was ready to leave. Men leaned towards Him to give Him shallow, meaningless promises and talk.

Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side.

In the midst of His day, a day filled with requests, endless ideas of what they perceive God to be, ideas of what He should be, their joy, their pain, their trouble, Jesus knew He needed a break.

He was asleep

The disciples ... they needed Him, didn't He know there was a storm! ............ they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”

Didn't they know Jesus lived in a storm of constant activity and thoughts ...... And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and .... there was a great calm.



These were the days Jesus walked the earth. We share Psalm 116 with Him, it applies to all of us, with Him:

Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

~ Psalm 116: 7-9

<><

Joshua 3 ~ the waters rose in heap very far away

Joshua 3


English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits [a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters] in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”

14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.



In 1964, Dr. James Pritchard put his efforts into Jordanian site of Tell es-Sa'idiyeh, identified as the biblical city of Zarethan. Pritchard, of the University of Pennsylvania, found in 2 months, he hit so many finds so fast that he hardly caught up with himself. He suspects that in Biblical times the Jordan Valley was the richest and most civilized part of Palestine.

Dr. Pritchard thinks Zarethan was a city of Canaanites, ruled by the Hebrews in Jerusalem, but he is also convinced that its site was inhabited long before the Hebrew invasion. For one thing, it had plenty of water, a rarity in the Jordan Valley. After spotting springs that still flow from the foot of the mound.

While probing in a slightly lower part of the mound, Dr. Pritchard stumbled by accident upon his most spectacular find: a mud-walled tomb with the skeleton of a woman of high station, perhaps a local queen. She lay with rich grave goods still around her—500 beads of carnelian and 75 of gold, silver pins, a silver chain, four ivory boxes, an ivory spoon with a human head carved on it, and many objects of bronze and pottery. "She must have died about 1200 B.C., not long after Joshua stormed the Promised Land."




<><

Psalm 71 ~ You will restore my life again

Psalm 71

Max McLean Audio Bible, English Standard Version


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



<><



+

Other Scripture for Today Blogspot readings on Psalm 71:
February 8, 2011
April 7, 2009
September 18, 2008


<><

Psalm 116 ~ You have delivered my soul, my eyes, my feet

Psalm 116

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”

5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest;
for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

8 For you have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling;
9 I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

10 I believed, even when I spoke,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 I said in my alarm,
“All mankind are liars.”

12 What shall I render to the Lord
for all his benefits to me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord,
14 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
16 O Lord, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.
You have loosed my bonds.
17 I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving
and call on the name of the Lord.
18 I will pay my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 116 is thanksgiving the Psalmist (and when we read God’s living word, it is you) responds to divine rescue from mortal danger and from near despair with vows promised to God. Rejoice you will walk with God in the land of the living. A strong reason to rejoice! God is living and active. He hears our prayers with mercy for this life. And we have eternal life in Jesus Christ with Him.

I kept faith, even when I said: even in the days of despair, the Psalmist does not lose all hope! Faith pleases God.

Verse 15 Too costly in the eyes of the LORD: the meaning is death of God's faithful is grievous to God, not that God is pleased with the death. God wept when Lazarus died and He returned Lazarus to the living. God did not rejoice Jesus, His Son, had to die, yet He loved us enough to have atonement for our reconciliation to God. God calls us to holiness; and He has explained His ways are not our ways.

When we look for proof of wind, all we are able to see is the leaves move in the wind. The proof is the effect:

The Holy Spirit carried men along, moving and guiding them as they wrote in their own words what God wanted them to say. Although the Bible was written on perishable material and copied by hand for many centuries, its accuracy is not in doubt, proven by Dead Sea Scrolls and papyrus from 2,000 years. The Bible has survived persecution & criticism to be read with great interest in each generation. The Bible gives witness to the greatness of the Creator. A loving Father concerned for all of his creation. The Church of Jesus Christ has prevailed for 2,000 years against all the doubts, skeptics, haters and will continue until the return of Jesus Christ. This occurs with the love, protection and truth of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!


<><

Ezekiel 36:16-23 ~ For the Sake of My Holy Name

Ezekiel, painted by Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni for the Sistine Chapel. Vatican views of the Sistine Chapel, movable 360'. Fascinating.

Ezekiel 36:16-23

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

16 The word of the Lord came to me: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds. Their ways before me were like the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity. 18 So I poured out my wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, for the idols with which they had defiled it. 19 I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. 20 But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ 21 But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.

For the Sake of My Holy Name

22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

Yesterday we looked at Romans 14 which speaks of Christians having mercy in their judgements upon each other - God has a plan for the people living in faith seeking to please Him. And we talked about mental health saying black and white viewpoints are not a good thing when taken to extremes. And recently I wrote of The Red Tent seeing Jacob as a biblical Neanderthal. Critics of the Bible say God speaks in vengeance as a voice only of the biblical Neanderthal.

After all it's all about balance. Well, it is for people. We trust our own judgement on every decision we make. The Scriptures God gives us establish goodness and righteousness. This is extremely needed and useful in building up civilization. Civilization, without the Scriptures, is about power and fear. Civilization seeking to distance themselves from God, afraid of offending anyone, is about winding ourselves apart.

In mercy in love, we trust each other to be kind about our weaknesses. In truth in love, we ask people to respect each other for our gifts and virtues. Without this goodness, we are at the mercy of one another. We resort to slavery, physical gratification in sex and food, taking what we need instead of believing we can earn it, narcissism/prostitution instead of true love, substance abuse and violence instead of diligence, and power instead of communication. We can all name various perversions off of the top of our head, but if you look in Leviticus and the Books of Law in the Scripture, there are things never even remotely mentioned in our newspapers named as immoral in the Books of the Law. Thank You, Jesus. For giving us righteousness.


God never goes suddenly forth swinging a meat cleaver. Ezekiel is speaking as a priest of God and a prophet. Ezekiel is explaining why destruction has befallen Judah, Israel, the Temple of God and the God's children. He is using an analogy of hidden sin. Malice people use against each other and it begins to rob life. I recently read an article of a woman who had 3 sisters and they all married verbally abusive men, the common denominator was a mother who was a central person in her Church and that mother was completely two faced to and about other women in her Church. A charming individual to the face and expert critic, verbal desiccator behind backs. Her daughters married abusive men believing finally they had found someone to speak the truth.

Perhaps the key ingredient of our winding down is the failure to love one another as ourselves. We all fall short of this, but mercy goes a long way.

The Temple had been used by the Children of God as a means of outward righteousness, but only a show. Will God our Father leave us in our mistakes, our hurt, our deliberate sin? No, in His mercy He will give all of us a way forward.

Christians and only casual observers overlook an important point in God. He isn't vengeful. The judgments of God are not casual and formed from the surface. While human beings never have the full story about each other; God knows goodness, holiness and righteousness.

Proverbs 14:10
The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.

Alleluia, Father. You know and need no one to bear witness about man, You know what is in mankind, but You determined we are worth of dying for and worthy of You and worthy of Your love. We are the Easter people and halleluiah is our song. In Jesus Christ. Amen.




<><

Romans 14:1-12 ~ observes it in honor of the LORD

Romans 14:1-12

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

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

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

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

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

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

Where shall we start with this beautiful passage? We could think of Gideon. Gideon who began as weak boy, from a poor clan of Israel, and ended as a man righteously putting away power to give an ephod idol to the people of Israel instead of a relationship. We could condemn Gideon as a one shot wonder. We would be wrong. Gideon is loved by God, as God of the living.

We could think of Solomon given a beautiful, shiny new kingdom and asking God for wisdom. And using that wisdom to acquire 700 wives. Solomon didn't rest in the Lord's visitation and gifting to him. Okay. Solomon wrote and said in Ecclesiastes 7 that he hadn't found a good, worthwhile woman. During his 700 marriages. No one can stand firm to say they can write the Bible for our guidelines. Yet, you could safely say Solomon fell into the trap written by the Eagles song: "you can spend your life making money, you can spend your love making time." Solomon was making too much time with too many women. Solomon never spent time "being" the right person. He seems stuck in the physical perfections. A whole lot of love is about loving what isn't so perfect in the people you love. When we read Song of Solomon we are reading not just about young love, but the ideals we see in the people we love.

So we can flush Solomon's wisdom. But God says No, we should read Solomon's wisdom.

Human Judgement? Flawed. One Prophet of God had many religious leaders come to examine Him. These men were given their power by God - it was God's Temple.... The Pharisees and Sadducees, all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law were horrified to find this Man defying the tradition, the religious law associating with known sinners and tax collectors. Jesus didn't even like hand washing for purity. And He told them He was one with the Father. Forgave sins and called Himself God's Son.

Today? We are a pretty fragmented Body of Christ. God says in this passage, He uses what we deem to be faith to spread the Good News.

Perhaps another thing to add to the passage - black and white thinking is frowned upon in the views of mental health. Yet as believing Christians, we are told to live holy lives. Labeling some things as evil is necessary and part of life. But truly living and speaking truth and mercy with love is more rare and still gleams brightly the light of Jesus Christ.

My cousin, Maxine, had this on her bathroom door. As I walked, I observed a man - a very lazy man. He sat in a chair with a rake, raking his leaves. I felt contempt for this lazy, lazy man slowly raking his leaves. I vigorously walked and as I returned from the other direction, I learned his crutches were propped against the chair where he sat, carefully dragging his rake, to remove his leaves, making his yard both trim and neat.

What would Jesus say about Paul and the Holy Spirit for Romans 14 - live and live in faith - we cannot displease God when we earnestly seek to please Him.


John 4:21-26
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

Reading the Scriptures helps us know God's love. Every verse of the Bible is written for you. Ultimately, it is you and the Lord.


<><



+

Other Scripture for Today Blogspot readings on Romans 14:
August 2, 2010
November 5, 2009

<><

Psalm 103 ~ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

Psalm 103

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
18 to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the Lord, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!




Earnest words ~ Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me bless His Holy Name.




Bless the Lord, for all His Benefits. Forgiveness, Healing, Redemption, Steadfast Love and Mercy. Works of Righteousness. Justice for the oppressed. Gracious. Renewal of Youth. As High as the Heavens are above the earth, so Great is His Steadfast Love. Our Father shows compassion to His Children. His Kingdom Rules Over All.

The plentiful waves of His blessings continue to pour over us.

Bless the Lord, O you, His angels.


<><

Other Scripture for Today Blogspot readings on Psalm 103:
March 7, 2010
August 29, 2010


<><

Psalm 44 ~ ordain salvation

Psalm 44

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

O God, we have heard with our ears,
our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
in the days of old:
2 you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples,
but them you set free;
3 for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them.

4 You are my King, O God;
ordain salvation for Jacob!
5 Through you we push down our foes;
through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
6 For not in my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes
and have put to shame those who hate us.
8 In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

9 But you have rejected us and disgraced us
and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You have made us turn back from the foe,
and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter
and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face
16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your way;
19 yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
our belly clings to the ground.
26 Rise up; come to our help!
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

~ regarded as sheep to be slaughtered

If we think along the lines of popular books like The Red Tent, we believe the biblical neanderthals like Jacob and Samuel wouldn't have cared about sheep. After all they offered them for sin offerings. Nasty, dirty men who didn't bathe and lived in tents. Men who killed men and animals easily, taking many wives.

Who actually are the writers of Psalm 44, with the Holy Spirit - from the Levitical clan, this Psalm was written by the Sons of Korah. Remember Asaph? What was Asaph's job during the reign of King David? He was chief in offering praise to God in music. He is biblically recorded as being a chief musician and seer, or prophet. Imagine... those men of the Bible encouraged the arts and believed in gratitude towards Father God. Asaph, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote Psalm 50 and 73-83. So very different from popular culture in viewing biblical patriarchs.

However, this Psalm is one the Holy Spirit allows complaining about the absence of God. Why would the honored Temple musicians and the great-grandsons of Samuel - grandsons of Asaph - complain God is absent? They also held the honored public post of Gatekeeper to David's city. We are supposed to wonder. What is your answer? I'd say it is one I'm guilty of myself. We want to tell God about how the sheep want to behave and how God is to behave towards them. Although this Psalm moans of disgrace - biblically this was peacetime during the reign of David. I believe they are clamoring for more of their share of God's glory. They want to be Nathan or Samuel instead of rejoicing in their gifts.

1 Chronicles 16:5
Asaph was the chief, and next to him in rank were Zechariah, then Jaaziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom and Jeiel. They were to play the lyres and harps, Asaph was to sound the cymbals,

1 Chronicles 16:7
That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to give praise to the LORD in this manner

12 Psalms are written by the Sons of Korah with the Holy Spirit. The grandchildren of Asaph, one of the chief musicians.

1 Chronicles 26

¹ The divisions of the gatekeepers:

From the Korahites: Meshelemiah son of Kore, one of the sons of Asaph.

² Meshelemiah had sons:
Zechariah the firstborn,
Jediael the second,
Zebadiah the third,
Jathniel the fourth,
³ Elam the fifth,
Jehohanan the sixth
and Eliehoenai the seventh.

Asaph and his children blazed a path. David saw them doing so. David understood the way his people needed to be treated. Asaph was the grandson of the prophet Samuel, but Asaph is not recorded as living with David as a political outlaw in caves. David forgave a lot of men for not following him during the dark hours.

David did not treat the men who joined him only in victory as sheep for the slaughter.


To be honest about the video, it is better towards the middle so feel free to speed it up with the dot at the bottom. If you like dogs, cats, you'll be impressed with this little lamb.

What kind of King is David remembered as. One who could tell the difference between leading people in ways to be slaughtered. One who repented when not taking care of his people.

2 Samuel 12:1-4
¹ The LORD sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴ “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”

Father God, thank You that You do not sleep as Baal did when Elijah taunted Baal. With You, we trust in You to ordain salvation. You are the creator. You plant. You delight in the giving victory. David rested in You, in faith, when the days were filled with affliction and oppression. We wait upon You being the hearer of our prayers and the hope for our days. When circumstance defines our lives and we feel frustrated, help us to look to You in faith to either create change or perseverance in love in our characters. In the name of Jesus. Amen.


<><


+

Other Scripture for Today Blogspot readings on Psalm 44:
March 15, 2011
September 8, 2008
April 30, 2007

<><

Matthew 6:25-34 ~ Sufficient for the day

Matthew 6:25-34

Listen – click for new tab

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

In one of Herman Wouk’s books, about Israel’s 6 Day War, the book’s hero is captivated by the size of the Mississippi River. He cannot get over the Jordan River is so known throughout the world for the holiness of being in Israel, but the Mississippi River has such force behind it. The sheer size of a cross continent flight in America is overwhelming to him. It created an awareness in me of God’s plan being so much larger than any of our plans. Another book, Lantern on the Levy, by William Percy sort of combines that thought. William Percy tells about the force of the Mississippi exceeding its boundaries & the lack of communication endless force creates. It created an analogy, for me, I think about & speak about a lot.

Life is a lot like being in the Mississippi River, we are pushed by tremendous forces we cannot see or control. We have eddies and resting places, we convince ourselves that now we in control. We have life in our own boundaries. But the people we love - move, they age, they change - we change. The things, the places, the people we love are not within our grasp, our vision… forever. It isn’t all sadness! There is more to come.

Prayer is the coin paid to Gratitude. ~Jessi Lane Adams

Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us. ~Socrates

Be thankful that God's answers are wiser than your answers. ~William Culbertson

Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God. ~Edwin Keith

When a man is at his wits' end it is not a cowardly thing to pray, it is the only way he can get in touch with Reality. ~Oswald Chambers

As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in schools.

It is good for us to keep some account of our prayers, that we may not unsay them in our practice. ~Matthew Henry

Deep down in me I knowed it was a lie, and He knowed it. You can't pray a lie - I found that out. ~Mark Twain

And help us, this and every day, to live more nearly as we pray. ~John Keble

It is of course possible to dance a prayer. ~Terri Guillemets

God can pick sense out of a confused prayer. ~Richard Sibbes

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

~Helga Bergold Gross

Philippians 4:6-8 ~ (English Standard Version)

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

<><