Psalm 107 ~ the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast Love endures forever!

Psalm 107

Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
3 and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.

4 Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
5 hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
8 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
9 For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
11 for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
13 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
15 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
16 For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17 Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
18 they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
20 He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
21 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits' end.^{[all their wisdom was dried up]}
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39 When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
40 he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Life can be crunchy.

Very oddly crunchy.

When you get to almost middle age, Life. Can. Hand. You. Crunchy. Hair.


Hare today gone tomorrow.


It's an odd thing what two millenniums can do to polite. Winston Churchill knew something of right and wrong.

I like a man who grins when he fights.

If Hitler invaded hell, I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons.

I am certainly not one of those who need to be prodded. In fact, if anything, I am the prod.

Winston Churchill


And as I am in recovery for crunchy hair - I'd have to say I have lived down some disapproval.
And some "religious" intolerance for loving Jesus.
{Don't we all vastly prefer the reward of being a child of God over 'religious'?]

Imagine being thrown out of a Facebook Group in Texas. Imagine this is done quietly. Sorta. Don't imagine. Be informed. Be shocked. Ask questions.

“You can't pick and choose which types of freedom you want to defend. You must defend all of it or be against all of it.”
― Scott Howard Phillips

Crunchy Moms
Feel free to ask questions and join discussions with other moms here. Just remember there may be some 'hot' topics and to respect others. Fully live intentionally in a holistic, life honoring manner. The definition is left broad, because many topics are worth exploring. Among these topics would be: local food systems, clean food choices, natural and minimally invasive (true "health") care, life-honoring child care, natural child birth options, chemical-free home living, pure water, fitness... etc...

Lauren goes to my Church. This week, Lauren and her entire family plus another Church child - were in a weather related traffic accident. The car was rolled over and totaled. She posted a picture of the totaled car and a brief thanks to God for His mercy in sparing their lives on her membership status as a Crunchy FB Mom.

Birds without trees can never feel free.”
― Leena Ahmad Almashat, Harmony Letters

Freedom of Information. "A Family Thing"
Aunt T.: If he looks white it's 'cause his daddy's white. I don't know how he look, I can't see him like you can, and don't need to. I don't have the blessing of being able to separate people by lookin' at 'em any more.

The moderator of the site - asked Lauren if she understood the pain she had just inflicted for praising God for their lives. She went on to say did Lauren believe she was more special and blessed for having survived. Did Lauren think that God loves her and her family more than children who suffer and die in other areas of the world??? Why do Christians Impose Their Belief On Others?

Lauren was allowed to face the ridicule for one day. And quietly removed from the membership.

Ma'am. Living life abundantly is being open minded. Have you experienced child death? I have, let's talk.

Lauren was being grateful for what she has - Today. Surely you can open your heart some and rejoice with her. She is expressing joy. I've held my own child in my arms - she was smiling peacefully in departure. Let us be open hands and reason together.

Do you still feel that you are open enough? Gandhi said he found reason to love Jesus, just not the Christians.

Ghandi is regarded as peaceful. So...
let's see why Gandhi might find a way for this to be reasoned out.


Luke 9:50
Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for the one who is not against you is for you.”

You and Lauren support a lot of the same things in life. You were not being threatened.

Gandhi liked Jesus for this one trick - specifically given during the Exodus - and repeated in Scripture - when life throws blessings and throws opportunities for a prayerful solution -

Proverbs 4:27
Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Being centered is Plan.

Isaiah 42:3
A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.

Timing. Having said you know car accidents rather well, did you remember that after coming close to losing family - you have a time period of shock and worry.

Life honoring?
Isaiah 35:3,4
Strengthen you the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.

Psalm 34:18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Perhaps you have both experienced this trauma but at opposite ends of the same spectrum. The spectrum ends up in the Lord's hands, eventually.


Who is Jesus to Lauren? 
God is a Mom. 
Genesis records Adam was both male and female. God is open minded to open hands and hearts. Jesus only lived to be 33 years old, having walked our lives with vim and vigor. Proclaiming mercy over sacrifice. Daily.

Matthew 23:37 -
How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings

Matthew 9:36 -
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd.

What would Jesus do with this tussle, without complete circle communication, between His child Lauren and you, His child?

Isaiah 40

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that her warfare is ended,
that her iniquity is pardoned,
that she has received from the Lord's hand
double for all her sins.

3 A voice cries:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
5 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

6 A voice says, “Cry!”
And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the Lord blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

Isaiah 40 is about your comment that life is not crunchy but sometimes exceedingly fragile. God assures us in this passage about recovery, healing, passing,

The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
30 Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.


Because:

26 Lift up your eyes on high and see:
who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power
...not one is missing.


For your pain, dear moderator, we grieve with you. For your intolerance we cry - open your hands and your ears. For your judgment - we ask peace.

For your life experience, open your sails.

For greater peace, open your heart. God is not against you. God is For You. God is Love.

Loves has been born of God and knows God.

Judge not, that you be not judged.

Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.





”It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.” -Albus Dumbledore, Philosopher’s Stone. In case you didn't notice, magical Harry Potter died that goodness might live. It's all His Story, just tweeked a little.


I bet, dear moderator, you might just reconsider. All you need is a tall ship and a Star to sail her by. Gandhi would probably agree. 
 We just call our star an unspoken testimony and wisdom proclaiming Jesus Christ-
 was born - 
for all the world.

+

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Stand for your Freedoms

Religious freedoms - very important to the people who arrived in the United States for this very integral part of our Nation. Gene Simmons is an Israeli-born American. His mother, Florence and her brother, Larry Klein, were the only members of the family to survive the Holocaust. He used to invest in Tweed, however on October 1, 2011 Gene Simmons married Shannon proving to America again that all that good parenting - wasn't a show. Gotta love Love. Awww.

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Zechariah 12 ~ a spirit of grace and supplication

Jerusalem, Damascus Gate. Rebuilt in 1542, presumably based upon archaeology, it is the 3rd Damascus Gate.

Zechariah 12 ~ New International Version

1 This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: 2 "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the LORD. "I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, 'The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.'

6 "On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.

7 "The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.

10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives.

An impossible miracle of God's. God is a fortress, a shield to .... an entire nation. Only God could bring about a miracle to a country so attacked.

Did you know the family of David have kept their lineage and they come together, from all over the world to have family reunions. According to God, David's line continues today.

In the middle of such a great victory, the people do not dance a dance of victory, instead they know only God can have done this and they are far from worthy. God knows how poorly we really listen and learn. So many things in the Scriptures repeat and repeat. The water parted in front of the Children of Israel several times. Water was a wall, and the wall of Jericho fell. Jesus was called upon to heal and was met with small faith, many times. John 14 is one of the verses telling us we pray in faith to accomplish His Will. Praying with faith that His Will be done. The Body of Christ, calling upon Him, to ask for our lives to be to His Glory and the Proclaimation of His Mercy and Enduring Love.

Zechariah tells us about Jesus being killed, how multitudes came not to the rural areas, but to God's Temple to learn more about Jesus. The Word of God says so in Acts 5.

Because the Word of God is living and active, this is a story which will repeat when the world is facing the rebuilding of the Temple, when we are coming to the end days the Lord has told us about since the time of Daniel in 600 B.C.

This impossible story occurred to the people of God during the reign of Hezekiah when the Assyrian Empire didn't destroy Judah. The new country of Israel has almost been wiped from the face of the earth, surrounded by enemies in impossible odds. Israel exists today. The miracle will come again. Rejoice. We are the Easter people.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Give us the Day! We Climb the High Path believing the Kingdom Heaven is like a tree, where the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. Let your Body Jesus, Your Church nest in in You - resting and comforted. Let us rest, calmed and quieted, gathered in Your pinions. Your wings, Father God.

Let not our heart be troubled, Jesus You are the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Jesus. Lord, show us Your will as be enough for us. Jesus - we ask in Your name, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. We ask You, Jesus, to see and know and do Your will and we will do it. Help us to keep Your commandments.

We ask Your Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will send, will teach all things and will remind us of everything You said giving Peace to our families and Churches and communities and nations to the world. Teach us this - let not our hearts be troubled and not to be afraid.

We ask for the Body of Christ to be one as Your Sacrifice, Jesus, made this possible. Your Victory over death. We commit our life as Your Family to You this day and submit ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus and the blood of His redemptive power.

Thank you, Jesus, is in us and Your Spirit dwells in us, Your Body. Thank you when You look upon us, You only see righteousness, worthiness, holiness, and purity, because Jesus cancelled all our guilt and shame on the cross.

Thank You, You created us to be who You want us to be. We are Your children. Help our community to be beautiful in Your sight. Today we choose to see ourselves as You see us, to believe in our life in You as You believe in us and to love each other as You love us. Thank you that the resurrection power of Your presence is living in us as individuals and in your Church known as HopePointe.

We receive everything You desire for us this day. In awareness, our gratitude has not prevailed. We go forth in You in a New Day. Renewed in You, Lord Jesus.

Father, we bind our will to Your will, to Your plans and purposes for us. We bind our minds to the Mind of Jesus, hearing Your thoughts in our thoughts. We bind our emotions to the healing balance and comfort of Your Holy Spirit.

We put aside all the wrong beliefs, wrong attitudes, excuses, deception, false religion and denial. We bind the effects and influences and wrong words spoken about us or to us, and we bind the works of the enemy from us as individuals, marriages or families. We affirm love as going the extra two miles You spoke of.

Let's pray this until Easter and watch for the rewards Father God tells us accompany prayer. Knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord

Today, Lord Jesus, Your will be done on earth (at HopePointe, in our families, communtities and nations) as it is in Heaven. Amen.

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Psalm 100 ~ come into His presence with singing

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.

There are some Sundays we go into Church and I do not feel like being there. I have things on my mind that feel more present than God. There have been a few times in my life I've contemplated going home, once I actually did. You know, it didn't help. Getting to focus solely on myself wasn't what I really needed. Being a Christian, loving Father God helps me remember what is important. Thank God, literally, for the ability to look up. To worship Someone Greater than myself and to realize I am not in charge of it all.

We ARE His. Thank You God. Bless the people who were so Very Kind to us today. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

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Mark 1 ~ The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God"

Earliest Catacomb representation of Jesus, Peter, Paul, and Andrew. in Rome

Mark 1

1 The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, 2 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
3 “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”

Who was Mark? This is difficult to say. Timothy was Paul's Spiritual Son. Peter claims Mark.

1 Peter 5:13
She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.

Paul loved Mark.

2 Timothy 4:11
Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.

Paul argued with Barnabas over Mark

Colossians 4:10
My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas.

Acts 12:11-13
Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door.



Perhaps, due to early Church wranglings - Mark was Peter's literal son. (If Mary was [historically, wealthy] Peter's wife and he was dazed. In the Roman Empire, women held on to Roman Inheritance.)
And Barnabas's cousin.
And Paul's co-minister.
Then Mark would represent - Christian forgiveness.
And the true believer's humility to exalt Jesus.


1 Corinthians 12:11-14
All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.



Mark 12:29
"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one."




St Mark wrote his Gospel for busy people of the Roman Empire. Historical references - a concise record a busy person could refer to, the references to the Miracles of Jesus most often spoken of. Only 16 chapters. The words and deeds of the Savior which reveal His divine Power. The account of Jesus people asked about the most, explained by Mark's closeness to the disciples. The obvious goal being to experience of the living Jesus Christ.

The proclamation of Jesus in Mark 1:14 and the following verses, for example, mixes the terms Jesus would have used as a 1st century Jew ("kingdom of God") and those of the early church ("believe", "gospel"). Counter belief against those who saw Jesus in a Greek way, as wonder-worker (the Greek term is "divine man"). Many ancient historians record the Gospel of Mark is a concise record of St Peter's preaching. Mark saw the suffering of the messiah as essential, so that the Son of God title (the Hellenistic "divine man") had to be corrected and amplified with the "Son of Man" title, which conveyed Christ's suffering unto victory over death.


Mark 16:15
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."

This we know Mark did. Knowing more clearly of his work for Jesus than his parentage. We know Mark was the first Bishop in Africa and died in Alexandria in 68 A.D.

Mark's concern in presenting the life of Jesus was that the most widely spoken of miracles in the 1st century A.D. were recording expressing Jesus as the Messiah bringing us Good News of God's unity over all of creation. Mark brought Jesus to the millenniums.

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Zechariah 8:1-8 ~ I will save my people

Cristo Redentor, Corcovado, Rio De Janeiro


Zechariah 8:1-8

1 And the word of the Lord of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the Lord of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the Lord of hosts? 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.”

~ behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country

Psalm 103:11-12
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.


Psalm 130:
5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,and in his word I put my hope.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
for with the LORD is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

Psalm 51:
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

God is mighty to save
- Jealous for His people; wants their true love
- Faithful to provide
- Unchanging in righteousness; yesterday, today and tomorrow
- Accomplishes the improbable

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The Disciples. The Gospel of Matthew. Matthew.

If you'd walked Mark 10:32
They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe

AND

If you thought about writing one Gospel to cover and reveal the life of Jesus Christ the Son of God. Why, you'd think, I only need 28 Chapters.

Or maybe.

You'd be so overwhelmed you might decide you could cover one aspect.

John 21
24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

25 Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.


The difference between the Exodus, Old Testament, and the New Testament - in the Exodus the people complained - A LOT.

Walking with Jesus - they were mostly overwhelmed. Worried. Asking each other questions. But they saw what John said - God is Love.

Where did Matthew start?

Matthew started by wanting to share his love and joy in Jesus, being a late comer to the group, by throwing Jesus a party. With the ones who needed Jesus most.

Imagine the joy of throwing Jesus a party. And join with me in the joy of knowing Jesus had a big party thrown for Him.

Except - this Man preaching Mercy each day at odds with peace - has nothing but Trouble in the commentary. And Matthew decides - he will defend Jesus.

1 Timothy 3
He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

Did Matthew have conceit? This man worked for the Oppression. And the Pharisees thought Jesus was the devil for His Friends. Reputation with outsiders? Well it was a Scam. The Pharisees were picked by Herod same as the Tax Collectors. Same Paycheck. Sorta. Eventually Matthew would be trapped by the devil (who might be credited to be the prince of this world - yet GOD, our Bible assures, us is Sovereign. Our GOD reigns. Today. Alleluia.)

So. Matthew starts out with apologetics. A sad word. Surely. For the greatest Truth of all time.

Matthew starts out with genealogy to appease the people who set the Samaritans out of the Second Temple and left people behind in Iran. And married the local women, but not the Samaritans with 3 tribes of Israel DNA. This is uphill work. Trying to point out the many ways fulfillment happens in the Old Testament. Genesis 2:4, Isaiah 7:14.

Matthew 16:26:
“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Matthew 22:37-40:
"Jesus replied, '"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two.'

Matthew fans out from here. Explaining to the Temple people for their redemption - how the Law hung Jesus (from a Cross) thinking they had a disposable Prophet on their hands. Matthew logically starts to draw from the beginning of Jesus' Ministry.

Jesus is the healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel who has increasing levels of trouble.

Matthew is at first impressed with Jesus' teaching and then amazed by His Acts. He begins by allowing how Jesus fits into their image of God and expands this into God works for Himself.

Matthew's whole Gospel is the blending from clarifications of the expectations (perhaps like our own interpretation of the Revelation and theirs to Isaiah) to the Fulfillment of God.

Matthew 15
14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?[d] 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

21 And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

23 But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

26 And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Matthew gave a party...
and began to understand the hurt of God that His own Children were insensitive.
The Gospel of Matthew explains how a thug was loved
and his redemption in that Love began to change the world.

God's Love

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Amen.


Father GOD, bless, protect, guide and lead those who require a Savior. Remember them in your Mercy. Your overwhelming Mercy. In Jesus we pray, Your will be done! Amen.

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Matthew 10:34-42 ~ follow me

Matthew 10:34-42

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.


We see Jesus suffered profoundly for us and died. And we wonder today about the passion surrounding Jerusalem and even our families.

Jesus prayed for us, a profound prayer in John 17
The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

And apparently in John 21, we have conflict over a suffering, Redeemed Jesus seeking reconciliation. Peter grousing over John's fate.

The work of the cross working immediately. Jesus telling us He is still at work.

Romans 8:28
And we know that all things "work" together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Ecclesiastes 3:11
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Salvation is how large?

• The famous analogy four blind men discover an elephant / an analogy of God. They grope about, seeking to understand and describe this new phenomenon. 
• One grasps the trunk and concludes its a workable, flexible - finding the incredible Grace to recover from pain and sin.
• Another explores one of the elephant's legs and describes it as a tree - has possibilities and the cares of the world - the deceitfulness of riches - the vast cares of life -and the Tree of Life allows them to climb the tree and rest in the vast branches and be lifted. The Upward Call of God.
• A third finds the elephant's tail and announces that it is a rope - like Jacob - a way to contend with God for blessings. Hope during trouble.
• And the fourth blind man, after discovering the elephant's side, concludes that it is, after all, a wall - the law is solid. A Guide to rest decisions and temptations to bind up the culture to care for one another - vast Blessings.

THIS IS WHY WE HAVE FOUR GOSPELS!
Let's begin with the Prophets and tomorrow consider the four Gospels and unity.

John was expressing how large salvation is -

John 21
24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.


God expresses this to us in the parable of the workers - some who refused and arrived later. Some who said yes and didn't appear. Some arrived in the nick of time. Jesus announcing His storehouse of blessings does not run dry.

Look at the Old Testament and what drew men of all backgrounds and personalities to God -

Micah 4:3
He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Abraham gathered blessings and mercy for others. This is what drew him to God. Father of Nations. Abraham felt God should be merciful, asking God to spare mankind. And earned the blessing of the millenniums. God's attitude on mercy - Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Jacob fought God all of his days for a Blessing and sought to bless his children and grandsons. God granted Jacob the blessing all of his days. As Jacob believed he lived the blessings of God.

Moses wanted justice for the people he felt were abandoned. God provided more than justice, and the slaves left with their former masters' gold and jewelry. God guarded them tenderly.

Eli wanted God's Words to be fulfilled. He wanted Hannah to be blessed. And Samuel to hear. Eli lived to see all of God's Word fulfilled.

Samuel mourned (not his sons continuing Judges but Saul and his duty to God to anoint David). Like the Prodigal Father - He longed to run to his son and have that embrace.

Nathan saw God loves like a Shepherd. Tenderly caring in love. Nathan cared for David as a witness to Love all their lives. Not Gad, who did a job thundering away.

Elijah was pressed to the wall in famine, unbelief and war. He believed God. Listening to the reassuring small voice - "God had not forgotten him."

Elisha saw the measure of Elijah's faith endure and carry him through hardship. He began seeing the blaze of Elijah revealing God's glory, in a time of abundance as Ahab was defeated. The joys of the world were not going to overcome his faith.

Jonah mourned a plant - not even caring for the repentant. Jonah had no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

Isaiah jumped into serving GOD with glee. He got his feet wet in Uzziah's reign and lived joyously bringing the Good News of faith in the LORD let the people to hear, understand, see and perceive, the heart of the people worked tirelessly to be turned and healed. King Hezekiah's faith brought the prosperity of God bring faith in placing HIM first. Isaih's willingness was a forerunner of "behold the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."

Jeremiah wanted to be left alone. Well, unfortunately for Jeremiah - he was left alone. And God grew him. Jeremiah began in the most glorious of religious reigns reviving the Temple and discovering the forgotten Word of GOD. Jeremiah gave God's prophecies, enduring ridicule, and lived to see the Word fulfilled, immediately. He lived to see an abandoned Jerusalem have peace.

Ezekiel believed better times were coming during war. He knew God would show up when their righteousness was gone. He trusted God to be merciful to them.

Habakkuk cried out for help so loudly, insistently with expectation. God answered.

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Leviticus 25 ~ sow, prune and gather - skip the repeat

Leviticus 25

The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. 3 For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, 4 but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. 5 You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. 6 The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, 7 and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food.



8 “You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. 9 Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. 10 And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. 11 That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. 12 For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.

13 “In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property. 14 And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. 15 You shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops. 16 If the years are many, you shall increase the price, and if the years are few, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. 17 You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord your God.

18 “Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely. 19 The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely. 20 And if you say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?’ 21 I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. 22 When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.
Redemption of Property

23 “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. 24 And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land.

25 “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, 27 let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. 28 But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.

29 “If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption. 30 If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong in perpetuity to the buyer, throughout his generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee. 31 But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee. 32 As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time the houses in the cities they possess. 33 And if one of the Levites exercises his right of redemption, then the house that was sold in a city they possess shall be released in the jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel. 34 But the fields of pastureland belonging to their cities may not be sold, for that is their possession forever.
Kindness for Poor Brothers

35 “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. 36 Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. 37 You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

39 “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: 40 he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. 41 Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. 42 For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. 43 You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God. 44 As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. 45 You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. 46 You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.
Redeeming a Poor Man

47 “If a stranger or sojourner with you becomes rich, and your brother beside him becomes poor and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner with you or to a member of the stranger's clan, 48 then after he is sold he may be redeemed. One of his brothers may redeem him, 49 or his uncle or his cousin may redeem him, or a close relative from his clan may redeem him. Or if he grows rich he may redeem himself. 50 He shall calculate with his buyer from the year when he sold himself to him until the year of jubilee, and the price of his sale shall vary with the number of years. The time he was with his owner shall be rated as the time of a hired worker. 51 If there are still many years left, he shall pay proportionately for his redemption some of his sale price. 52 If there remain but a few years until the year of jubilee, he shall calculate and pay for his redemption in proportion to his years of service. 53 He shall treat him as a worker hired year by year. He shall not rule ruthlessly over him in your sight. 54 And if he is not redeemed by these means, then he and his children with him shall be released in the year of jubilee. 55 For it is to me that the people of Israel are servants. They are my servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Lately, I've been thinking about the generations. And what we except.

Jesus moved to Capernaum. Matthew's 8th Chapter writes about Jesus encountering faith.

Matthew 8

When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him

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.

I barely watched the last Presidential debates. Maybe as a nation we were tired. But it was too predictable and too phoney. War! War! War! Do you actually know someone who wants more war? We made a laughingstock of our first Mr. Bush over his awe at grocery check out. And Dan Quail misspelled potaoeuesque. Surely this is more pleasant than gruesome death. What are we fighting about? Our paramedic friend says the hospital on the bases are mostly suicide attempts and alcoholism. It must be fascinatingly busy in Japan for them.

How many of our population have kids? So - do we care we are slipping in education, jobs, life expectancy. We are drowning in the belief if we work harder - the solution is There. Are we arriving at a better off work force yet? 

What is the Ancient Idea of Jubilee?

Are you happy with your kids unhappiness at the size of public school after 5th grade? Now that we cut out recess are we better in engineering and job opportunities?

The schools teach cog - ability. Our second Mr. Bush had that right about alternative educations where the atmosphere is smaller and more caring. And I want to thank our Schools. My kids are still grateful to their really great teachers, and Principals - the new buildings are phenomenal. What, literally, will we do if we get tired officials?

Do you fake to your friends that you pay for your childrens' college education? Bill Gates says this is absolute enslavement to something We the People want for our kids - Education with Low Costs.

Have you noticed Third World countries do not provide health care, good education, opportunities for financial advancement, and good housing? But their governments and religious institutions ask for WAR. This isn't just the Middle East.

Have you noticed every politician says they are for tax reform?

Have you noticed your grandparents paid cash for their houses. Oh central heat and air - um - cmon - our grandparents had electricity and indoor plumbing mostly. The Amish consider this possible today - 30 year mortgages or 60? Did you know Austin, Texas increased their housing costs - when - the Silicon Valley started moving in. A few crafty sales people took the housing market up 50% in practically no time.

We can redeem this. We need people willing to step up and provide solutions. It is a financial fact - Thomas Jefferson said we need change and people need to OWN their own homes for Financial Stability. It is a financial fact that all commodities like housing rise and fall. What we need is a reset - instead of big business bail out. We need a seven year - own this house mortgage.

Did you know UPS is one of our finest employers - they offer the employees to earn a permanent place in their earnings. We need more investment for companies who would include their employees in profits. We need fewer serfs in our castles - the ones with elevators.

We need people willing to truly do like Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan and give us patriots who wanta better life for the Nation.

Open this Country back up and see if we don't again shine a Light to the Nations.

Save a politician - redo the requirements - Education, Housing, Peace and Financial Careers tied to Performance. Real Health Care, look at Taiwan - that almost works. Maybe Congress needs t-shirts with the Goals for the Nation. Send your Congress person a polite t-shirt, they might like that. What people can see and touch, they tend to focus on.

Let's do like the Centurion - expect God to help us and expect more from what we really want this country to have. This really is not a case of them versus the people. I'm almost sure politicians are people too. The People need to refocus.

The people of the United States would ask the Government to allow the citizens to see the Government act as we would have them act. We would not want to be regulated unwisely from cradle to grave, simply to engage in transactions deemed traditional.

In God we trust. Help us Lord Jesus and we shall be helped. Amen. 

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