Matthew 10:5-15 ~ acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts

Matthew 10:5-15

⁵ These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶ but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' ⁸ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

⁹ Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, ¹⁰ no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. ¹¹ And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. ¹² As you enter the house, greet it. ¹³ And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵ Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Painting by James Tissot, Jesus Teaching from a Ship

This is Jesus sending His disciples out. Immediately. After making them His disciples. Chapter 12 is when they are reunited. Jesus went on to preach and teach in other cities, evidently, without the disciples in Chapter 11.

Matthew's 10th Chapter goes on to say, as Jesus sends them out to be who they are and to preach the Good News in the power of the Holy Spirit, He says:

Matthew 10:24
"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.

Very similar, would be these words and the meaning of God:

John 15:15
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.

Can you imagine Jesus sent these raw recruits on their way? To do ... God's work. Jesus trusts them to go to it.

~ 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.

The very next statement is Jesus repeating twice. The healing is a gift of God. Do not seek pay. Human nature is to find advantage in every situation. Jesus says be a gift. The grace of God is a gift. He doesn't say in this passage to travel to foreign lands and be a missionary. He says God expects us, as untrained theologians, if we believe in Him to do Kingdom work and not to look for the advantage for ourselves.

Okay. The word of God is for us. Today.

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

Look around. This is the mission field.

Father God, here are my hands. Here I am. You will send opportunity, You will send Your Holy Spirit. It is not all up to me. You. Send me as You would like. You do not promise we will have miracles in all of our endeavors to bring forth Kingdom work. You promise You are with us through it all. You help us to shake off the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and go forward, in hope of You. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Psalm 100 ~ His gates with thanksgiving

Psalm 100

¹ Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
² Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

³ Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his [and not we ourselves] ;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

⁵ For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

October has arrived. Summer weeding and watering is over. The harvest is arriving. Getting photos from the little town we used to live in - Emporium, Pennsylvania. Photos of a piebald doe, near where piebald deer arrive from time to time. The photo shot on top of the mountain where our house was at the slope of its beginning. So many nights looking up at the sky and that mountain. The last photo reminds me of my grandmother's Mississippi backyard for no reason in particular. Times behind us, blessings ahead.

October is the time to enjoy what is around you. Thanksgiving will be busy. Christmas more so. Time to appreciate the gifts around you. My joyful noise is "Thank You, Father God".



Nicole C. Mullen live in Cincinnati. Beautiful, such praise brings tears to my eyes. She knows. She knows.





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Matthew 11:7-15 ~ what did you go out to see?

Matthew 11:7-15

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


7 As they [John's disciples who had not already followed Jesus and were asking for John, from prison, for confirmation Jesus is the Messiah] went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see [Some manuscripts Why then did you go out? To see a prophet?] ? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written,

"'Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.' [Malachi 3:1]

11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear."


Jesus is speaking to human expectations. And because of this, Jesus is expressing several layers of expectation.

When we plan a journey, we have a reason for the journey. Jesus is speaking about life in being a spiritual journey. Sometimes we are growing, sometimes we are falling back. Why the falling back?

Why have the people turned out to see Jesus as they did John? Some came to John because the tide was moving in favor of running out to the wilderness to repent. In doing what the crowd was doing, real repentance and real spiritual growth took place. Some came to John because they went away from their daily lives seeking to be more intimately joined with Father God.

People, Jesus was known to say, came to Jesus to be fed. Fed physically. Fed in healing. Fed in site seeing. People came to experience Jesus because of the rewards.

John the Baptist has stood in the prophecies of the Old Testament as Elijah - telling and crying out to make the way straight for the coming Messiah. Jesus has skipped telling the crowd about the Transfiguration, written of by Peter and alluded to by John (beloved disciple, Gospel writer), about the physical arrival of Elijah, himself....

Jesus is saying that expectations can be limiting. Jesus is saying we shouldn't 100% feel repressed by being limited. He is so understanding of the physical and, therefore, the mental limitations Are Part of Life.

We all hope to go forward, to get ahead. That isn't bad in and of itself. God plans for us to go forward. A tree grows slowly and then sometimes quickly, but then spends time filling out.

John the Baptist is being proclaimed he is the 'greatest'. People are interested in greatest - people are interested in Jesus Christ proclaiming greatest. Jesus is using the moment of weakness of John being afraid in jail to say - John's doubts limit him. He is limited on earth. In Heaven, there is no doubt. Having doubt limits us. Jesus isn't putting John down, Jesus is talking about the difference of Heaven and of earth. Jesus is telling us, He has compassion on John and the place he is in. Spiritually.

John the Baptist, with his fear of prison and death, is being held by His Savior as an example of God's compassion. Jesus also realized John is still sending men to Him. The disciples of John will have heard Jesus. John is still doing the work of the Lord as well. John is also asking Jesus to proclaim publicly that He is the Messiah. John probably hoped for Jesus to rise up immediately. Not to be saved, physically, John knows (it is written) Jesus' ministry surpasses his own. John was prepared for what was coming, but as a confirmation of John's efforts for God. God works in God's ways. His unseen ways are better than our best day.

Jesus saw people were grasping, annoying, demanding and needy. Yet He did not shake them away. Jesus was wise and gracious in His explanations. Kindly spoken. Sweet. Gentle. The truth of Jesus is spoken with mercy. In Jesus' love and mercy - the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by Jesus.

Jesus is saying the fruit of His ministry is righteousness, love and comfort. To grow in Him. To lean to Jesus for understanding like a tree to the light.

Jesus is telling us, in the best aspects of life, the aspects of love and higher road - there will be trouble. Jesus tells us to have good expectations. To Love Him, trust Him and put our faith in Him.


Jesus is for You. God is Love.



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Luke 10:17-24 ~ to see what you see, and hear what you hear

Mary and her Son, exchange a laugh and conversation. 'Passion of the Christ'


Luke 10:17-24

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" 18 And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."


Joy. To see what they saw and to hear what they heard. The seventy-two returned with joy. What would draw us to Father God? The joy He brings in His steadfast love. The joy of His holiness making us all complete. Just as a small child runs to the parent, so does God reach for us. Jesus Christ dwelling with mankind as grace and truth offering His Holy Spirit to dwell with us, today.


Luke 15:20
So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him."






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Psalm 39 ~ For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers. Look away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more

Exodus 19:18
Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently


Psalm 39

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

1 I said, "I will guard my ways,
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
so long as the wicked are in my presence."
2 I was mute and silent;
I held my peace to no avail,
and my distress grew worse.
3 My heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:

4 "O LORD, make me know my end
and what is the measure of my days;
let me know how fleeting I am!
5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!
Selah

6 Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

7 "And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
My hope is in you.
8 Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
9 I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me;
I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
11 When you discipline a man
with rebukes for sin,
you consume like a moth what is dear to him;
surely all mankind is a mere breath!
Selah

12 "Hear my prayer, O LORD,
and give ear to my cry;
hold not your peace at my tears!
For I am a sojourner with you,
a guest, like all my fathers.
13 Look away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more!"


What would it have been like to walk down the roads with Jesus? The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame leap, the leper cleansed - the 70 and the 12 disciples saw. Isaiah and Peter had the same reaction David did in this Psalm.

Isaiah 6:5
And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

Luke 5:8
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”

Yet David, Isaiah, and Simon Peter all continued with God. God did not bend down for them.

Isaiah 55:8
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.

Jesus once asked Peter if he was going to leave.

John 6:68
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

All these people God called, remained with Him.

Psalm 103:12
as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us

Psalm 131:3
O Israel, hope in the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore



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Ezekiel 38 ~ then they will know that I am the LORD

Hesiod, ''the father of Greek didactic poetry,'' identified Magog with the Scythians and southern Russia in the 7th century B.C.


Ezekiel 38




¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² "Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him ³ and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. ⁴ And I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great host, all of them with buckler and shield, wielding swords. ⁵ Persia, Cush, and Put are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; ⁶ Gomer and all his hordes; Beth-togarmah from the uttermost parts of the north with all his hordes— many peoples are with you.
 

⁷ "Be ready and keep ready, you and all your hosts that are assembled about you, and be a guard for them. ⁸ After many days you will be mustered. In the latter years you will go against the land that is restored from war, the land whose people were gathered from many peoples upon the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual waste. Its people were brought out from the peoples and now dwell securely, all of them. ⁹ You will advance, coming on like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.

¹⁰ "Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme ¹¹ and say, 'I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates,' ¹² to seize spoil and carry off plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and the people who were gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell at the center of the earth. ¹³ Sheba and Dedan and the merchants of Tarshish and all its leaders will say to you, 'Have you come to seize spoil? Have you assembled your hosts to carry off plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to seize great spoil?'

¹⁴ "Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and say to Gog, Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day when my people Israel are dwelling securely, will you not know it? ¹⁵ You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great host, a mighty army. ¹⁶ You will come up against my people Israel, like a cloud covering the land. In the latter days I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when through you, O Gog, I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

¹⁷ "Thus says the Lord GOD: Are you he of whom I spoke in former days by my servants the prophets of Israel, who in those days prophesied for years that I would bring you against them? ¹⁸ But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger. ¹⁹ For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. ²⁰ The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground. ²¹ I will summon a sword against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Lord GOD. Every man’s sword will be against his brother. ²² With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur. ²³ So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations.

Then they will know that I am the LORD.

Theologians wonder if this attack Ezekiel was speaking of was after the return from the second Exodus. It is not recorded.

 Matthew Henry and other theologians believe this war will occur in the last days of Revelation.

(In the 'Anne of Green Gables' series, I loved as a tween, the grown Anne has Chinese book ends on her mantle she names Gog and Magog. I never understood the reference, but it is like Abraham, the enemies - troubles of life will be defeated in the blessing of God's favor.)

TROUBLE is part of life. We can all be interested in the cause and outcome of Trouble.

What is the cause of trouble?

James 4:1
What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 

Proverbs 27:4 
Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?

 A nation, with vast resources behind them, with elaborate plans. The outcome?  

Proverbs 16:9 
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps James 1:20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God

 Psalm 37:8 
Stop being angry! Turn from your rage! Do not lose your temper--it only leads to harm.

We can also see plotting in anger and letting anger get a way from us as a destructive force, with the victim being the instigator.  

Luke 12:58  
As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison.  


Psalm 141:3
Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.

 Psalm 37:8-9 
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

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Psalm 3 ~ you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head

Psalm 3

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


O LORD, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
² many are saying of my soul,
there is no salvation for him in God.
Selah

³ But you, O LORD, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
⁴ I cried aloud to the LORD,
and he answered me from his holy hill.
Selah

⁵ I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.
⁶ I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.

⁷ Arise, O LORD!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸ Salvation belongs to the LORD;
your blessing be on your people!
Selah

Psalm 3 has an unusual meaning for me. The day I gave birth to our daughter, we knew she had a life ending medical condition called Trisomy 13. And as week 33 began, labor began. We arrived at the hospital and I could feel Isabelle kicking. But as we waited in the labor room, an ultra-sound revealed, an hour later, no heartbeat for tiny 3 pound Isabelle.

Psalm 3 reminds me of the friends from Church who waited with us in the labor room, as I was heavily medicated, for her birth. I slept soundly and was so very sad, but not worried. I had my loving, caring husband and friends to watch with me to see Isabelle. And as she was born, we knew from the smile on tiny, beautiful Isabelle's face - the utter peace. Isabelle had the Lord to be the lifter of her head. Salvation came that day. Not as her parents hoped, but an eternal salvation of joy and peace for Isabelle. Selah.


Hebrews 2:14-15
Because God's children are human beings--made of flesh and blood--the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. And deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.


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Luke 11:29-32 ~ Rise up

Abstract of the painting Pierro Della Francesca did of the Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba in 1466.


Luke 11:29-32

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

²⁹ When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.

³¹ The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.


Jonah and the Queen of Sheba. What did God call them to do in their lives? Jonah, prophet and man of God, was determined to use his free will and to escape the will of God to preach repentance to his enemy Assyria. The Queen of the Sheba was determined to meet Solomon and learn of his wisdom in ruling. Jonah was running from and the Queen of Sheba was working at her job - ruling. The Scriptures say her agenda book said learn everything you can from King Solomon.

Jonah was swept up by the Holy Spirit and put on the correct path. The Queen of Sheba was swept past the glories of the kingdom and the king - to understanding the real power of God.

People fear the Lord will send them around the world to be a missionary in horrible circumstance. Jonah. It is the Fear. And the best case scenario is the Queen of Sheba. We know Jonah's name, but not the Queen. God says the difference wasn't their occupation - it was internal.

The world has many legends of the Queen of Sheba. The Scripture says it was religious revival. The history of Ethiopia has a hidden Ark of the Covenant, today, and the Hebrew language was the official language of Ethiopia during the same time gold was being mined in Ethiopia in copious amounts.

For both of these people - the power of the LORD caused them to rise up. Beyond their moment to moment desires and to see, with awe and renewal, what the Power of God is. Jonah was still a man of God, continuing to work for the LORD, but more willing to allow His choices. The Queen of Sheba was still a queen, but more willing to be open to God's decisions for her.

God did not change them from their path, or their walk, He asked them to be open to being a child of God. To rise up to seeing, help work towards, the Higher Good. Using their God-given talents, repenting of wrong/selfish desires, and walk in the paths He gave them. Their lives changed in more depth - reaching to eternity - than in the course of what they were doing. An enormous change, soul deep. Such deep, soul deep changes within them, Jesus would speak of Jonah and the Queen of Sheba a millennium later.


Mark 12:24
Jesus replied, "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?

1 Corinthians 1:18
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.


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Psalm 101 ~ sing of steadfast love and justice

Our lives should walk with Jesus.


Psalm 101


English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


¹ I will sing of steadfast love and justice;
to you, O LORD, I will make music.
² I will ponder the way that is blameless.
Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
within my house;
³ I will not set before my eyes
anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
it shall not cling to me.
⁴ A perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.

⁵ Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly
I will destroy.
Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart
I will not endure.

⁶I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he who walks in the way that is blameless
shall minister to me.

⁷ No one who practices deceit
shall dwell in my house;
no one who utters lies
shall continue before my eyes.

⁸ Morning by morning I will destroy
all the wicked in the land,
cutting off all the evildoers
from the city of the LORD.

Just as the life of Abraham was remembered to be faithful, we remember Abraham thought fulfilling God's plan was up to his own efforts. Isaac knew God would name all of Abraham's offspring through him, but he planned to bless only one son. Jacob would be renamed Israel, but Jacob was a worrier and a plotter. Joseph was a bragger as well as blessed one. Moses was a murderer and a stutterer, not just the man, the adopted child, who received God's name. Rahab was immoral. And faithful as David's great-grandmother. Gideon was poor, brave, courageous and foolish in old age. Samson was a deceiver and a destroyer as well as a Judge of Israel. Peter was impulsive and loving. Martha a worrier. The woman at the well was ashamed and eager to find the Lord.

Hebrews 11:1-3
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.


Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,


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Jeremiah 35 ~ living in Jerusalem

Jeremiah 35

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 "Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink." 3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites. 4 I brought them to the house of the LORD into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold. 5 Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, "Drink wine." 6 But they answered, "We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, 'You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. 7 You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.' 8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, 10 but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, 'Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Syrians.' So we are living in Jerusalem."

12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 13 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the LORD. 14 The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, 'Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.' But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. 16 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. 17 Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered."

18 But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me."


One of the things the nation of Israel says today - that all the religions of Jews, Muslims and Christians - all are welcome in Israel to worship God, see and make pilgrimages to the historical sites of the Scriptures. Jerusalem is open to all faiths. And they are correct. Traveling the Nile is being changed, in Egypt, to becoming a pilgrimage of Muslims only. Not all Muslim countries allow pilgrimages of other faiths.

How would the house of Rechabites know whether to listen to Jeremiah in the house of God telling them to drink wine or to remember their oath. It would be confusing living during those moments. Coming war had driven them from a nomadic state to the city. The oath to the father, to be pure, is more important than the invitation to live for the moment or to sympathize with a prophet of God in the Lord's house.

Adversity is as defining as blessing. Solomon wrote the day of adversity is as from the Lord as well.

The way wasn't clearly cut, but the Rechabites listened not to the moment or the political environment or an unpopular prophet or to merely dismissed his offer for political gain. They didn't curry favor with a man of God and they did not work against him by declining his offer to appeal more to the king - who disfavored Jeremiah. God weighted the hearts and minds of the Rechabites and found their motives to be to His liking.

I like this passage. It is not always easy to determine what is the best path in given circumstance swiftly moving. But prayer for guidance and relying upon the Lord directs one to the next step.

Matthew 25:23
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.


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Psalm 7 ~ test the minds and hearts

Psalm 7

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

1 O LORD my God, in you do I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
2 lest like a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

3 O LORD my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid my friend [ the one at peace with me] with evil
or plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
and let him trample my life to the ground
and lay my glory in the dust.
Selah

6 Arise, O LORD, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
over it return on high.

8 The LORD judges the peoples;
judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God!
10 My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day.

12 If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword;
he has bent and readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man conceives evil
and is pregnant with mischief
and gives birth to lies.
15 He makes a pit, digging it out,
and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His mischief returns upon his own head,
and on his own skull his violence descends.

17 I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.


This is a song David sang to the Lord about Saul. Saul falsely accused David of being a traitor, when actually Saul was gripped with fear knowing the anointing of God had left Saul. David believes only God alone could judge each man. And trouble has an ending when put before the Lord.

Perhaps for us today, we can look at our enemies as our own destructive habits. Believe God sees what drives those habits and we ask for His forgiveness and look forward in expectation to God's help. Not merely our own strength, but relying upon His grace. God is steadfast and holy in His love for us. In this context, we become whole with God.

Ultimately the goal of each life following the LORD, is to mirror the light of Jesus Christ. When we compare this Psalm to the life of Jesus, we see that harm was intended by the Roman officials, the Temple elite acting for the darkness of evil. Instead Jesus was not forgotten by Roman officials, the Temple did not continue, darkness was given the most trouble eternity had ever seen and the Light of Jesus still shines. The Church of Jesus continues today! Believers place their trust in Him ~ living, active, moving and pervasive in His believers today!

1 Timothy 3:16
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.



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Matthew 9:18-26 ~ your faith

Matthew 9:18-26

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible


18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."

19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly [from that hour] the woman was made well.

23 And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. 25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went through all that district.





We Cry Holy, by Casting Crowns




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Luke 11:1-4 ~ Jesus was praying

“Head of Christ, done from life.” Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn's mid career religious (1650s) scenes depict a Jewish Jesus, to be known personally.



Luke 11:1-4

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

¹Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." ² And he said to them,

"When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. ³ Give us each day our daily bread [or our bread for tomorrow], ⁴ and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."

My first thought when coming to this Scripture passage is to wonder why the passage stops (Your will be done on Heaven and on earth) and does not continue with.... deliver us from evil for thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory. Amen.

Okay.... Jesus never did say the other portions. But it was my first thought. Amen is, of course, Your will be done. No need to repeat it twice. Jesus didn't say once God's will be done, Jesus was living daily the Father's will. Hallowed is His Father - so the Kingdom, the power and the glory are undoubted His.

Jesus asked God not lead us into temptation. Yet where is this temptation coming from?

Matthew 18:7
"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!"

Jesus is not saying God tempts us in a human way. God allows circumstance. Solomon said the day of adversity is from the hand of God as the day of blessing. We are defined by our choices. It is part of life to have difficulties and to make decisions. Psalm 7 says God tests our Spirit. He expects good from us.

Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Man's spirit is human. We pray for God to help us escape temptation. I'd imagine when we pray for deliverance from evil - we are merely clarifying for ourselves we agree God does not tempt us.

And it says Jesus was praying in a specific place. He was on that day. Jesus prayed in lonely places, Jesus prayed out loud, Jesus prayed as He healed. Jesus did not have to say an Amen, because it was an ongoing conversation.

There isn't a more perfect posture or place to the Lord.

Eyes open - John 11:41
Shout Ezra 3:11-14
Sing - Psalm 100:4
Loud voice - Acts 7:60
Standing - 1 Kings 8:22
Kneeling - 1 Kings 8:51
Speak with no sound - I Samuel 1:7-10
Face on ground - 2 Chronicles 7:3
Walk - 2 Kings 4:33-35
Squat/bow down - 1 Kings 18:42/ Psalm 95:6
Dance - 2 Samuel 6:14-16
Bow head - Isaiah 58:5
Raise hands in praise - Psalm 134:2
With two or more - Matthew 18:19

In expectation - Matthew 21:21
With persistence - Luke 11:8
In hope, always - Luke 18:1

Jesus always knew His Father heard Him and was eager to be in conversation with Him. Just as our Father is today for you and for me.



Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

When we pray what Protestants call The Lord's Prayer and Catholics call the Our Father, or Pater Noster, I am praying the Book of Common Prayer - Anglican - from the year 1662. Which version speaks to you? I'm happy to pray the below prayer with you. (Remember time is not an obstacle with God!)

Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done,
in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.


I always wanted to know - why have we added on to Jesus' prayer - we are acknowledging we need additional words because we are not perfectly living God's will as sinners. We acknowledge we do not understand God as well as Jesus does. Really, we are exalting Jesus as God. The Lord's prayer encompasses a framework of praise, provision, forgiveness given, forgiveness required and a blessing of peace and protection. Surrounded with the idea that whatever is God's will for us - we will live out with praise for Him. Asking Him to work His will, as in Heaven, in our lives. Great for corporate worship. As we speak to our Father, we need more conversation springing from the framework like a tree. Remember Jesus said to us not to repeat empty phrases heaped up like the Gentiles. God loves you, be at peace!



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Psalm 126 ~ when the Lord restored

Psalm 126

English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio Bible

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
² Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
³ The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad.

⁴ Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like streams in the Negeb!
⁵ Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
⁶ He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.

Restoration. Not just thrown out and replaced. To be made new with effort and valued. Something of beauty. What the Lord has in store for those who love Him.

You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?"
~ George Bernard Shaw

Psalm 33:18
Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love

Psalm 39:7
And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you

Matthew 12:21
and in his name the Gentiles will hope


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Matthew 19:1-15 ~ your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so

Matthew 19:1-15



¹ Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ² And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?" ⁴ He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? ⁶ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." ⁷ They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?" ⁸ He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." [Some manuscripts add and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery; other manuscripts except for sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.]

¹⁰ The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."

^{Last Supper, painted by Jappo Bassano (b. 1515, Italian, d. 1592)}

¹¹ But he said to them, "Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it."

¹³ Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, ¹⁴ but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven." ¹⁵ And he laid his hands on them and went away.


Latin traditor, from tradere to hand over, deliver, betray. The Roman Emperor Valerian (his photo on the his coin below, c. 253–260 A.D.) did the best he could to destroy all New Testament Scripture. The early traditions of the Church say the word traitor originated with the clergy and lay people tortured to hand over any Scripture to the Emperor and worship him. It became one of the first heresies of the Church saying the traitors were not to be forgiven, the clergy and Church worked on forgiveness during a time of death for worshiping Jesus Christ.

Still... isn't it interesting how the disciples weren't meek Sunday School lambs accepting all of Jesus' words with halos and earnest expressions. And add more interesting to it, the next words from Jesus are Him spending time with loving children. Perhaps Jesus felt a need for fresh air when He went to the Children. It is a fascinating combination of parables.

Consider - Jesus is indeed preaching to the Choir. If the DISCIPLES are not thrilled with hearing divorce isn't Las Vegas style, then who today will cheer about the commitment of marriage. In Europe and in the United States, there are many, many marriages never made because children are increasingly born out of wedlock.

What Jesus is saying is something we should practice as Children of God. When we say to our spouse, we are saying to our children and our family - you matter to me in more ways than my moment to moment happiness. When I ask myself, "How am I?" I have a very satisfying answer - I am building the futures of my children that will effect my grandchildren and, very possibly, my great-grandchildren. I am building up my spouse. And the good news goes further to say - I am building up myself.

I know this from living it - my dad chose to be happy and left us. And I mean left us. We did not know where he lived as the divorce proceedings took place. We knew where he worked and his attorney had contact, but we were not supposed to contact him. It has effected the way my mother values my children and my brother's children. It has effected the way we value my mom and she values us. One of the consequences of being a divorced family, the married families' traditions are much more important than the split family divorced one's from the past. My mom went to the funeral of an old, old friend yesterday to find the married families still remain close. Not the single spouse.

But the old friend had many job losses. Many failed business adventures. People joked about the old friend and said he had some ways that were foolish and feeble almost all his life. But the old friend had many, many old friends arrive - not to applaud his worldly success. But people cried. For their friend and the loss of his kindness. For the husband. For their dad. For their father-in-law. He was a man who built others up. I am today comparing this funeral to the one I went to where the man was a 90 year old business success without one tear for him.

So... again.... it is very interesting Jesus chose to go to the Children next.

Our minister   says in his sermons - that people come up to him to say - but you don't know my spouse. The troubled marriages who agree they are to remain together for life - find in 5 years they report - it is a good marriage again. Stick with it. God knows.




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