Matthew 22:23-33 ~ God of the living

Nativity Angels by Brian Kershirsnik. Going that far from home and giving birth in a barn, to a first child, being told to avoid the king at all costs, would make you tired as well as in awe.

Matthew 22:23-33

The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”

29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.


Looking at the events of the Bible, up close, for emotional responses even in God-indwelling and His Good Plan.

Today, we don't spend a lot of time wondering what happens to a woman married to 7 brothers. The family probably dreaded all this by the second or third marriage. You have to wonder if they wanted to leave town. This parable really is about learning to be part of Heaven when the wild winds of life howl. 

The family had integrity to hang in when it was not comfortable. Integrity in discomfort. Heart to go the distance.


These hearts wondered what God would do with Alllll This.


This is a God question - a good heart. Looking at eternity. Doing what is right even when it's without apparent blessing.

Jesus was not dealing with perfection in the Sadducees.  Even with the Pharisees, with the religious law - they were making a mistake - just to ask.  Jesus was pleased they asked and looked to Him.

This is an integrity question to ask the destination of the people around us. 
Perhaps we don't even spend time wondering if the people around us will be given Heaven. We, fortunately, live in an age of increasing medical knowledge and antibiotics. More and more people wonder if God would be so cruel as to have a Hell and place His creation in Hell if we don't believe Jesus Christ is His Son. I've had two people say this to me just recently. It isn't that God chooses hell for people, it is they do not choose to know God, who is loving.

The Sadducees believed in no resurrection. The Pharisees believed in religious appearances, and all were told by Jesus daily - He believed more in mercy than sacrifice.

Jesus is sincere.
Jesus is the same with all people.
Jesus is doing the right thing for the right reason.


We, this generation, are more like Genesis 2 and 3.


We are vastly different from God - God looked upon emptiness and -

God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

God called the expanse Heaven. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. And God saw that it was good.

God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them.

God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

And God blessed them.

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.




At least the Sadducees were astonished at His teaching...  


GOD HAS A HEART - LIKE GOD! God saw everything that He has made 
and BEHOLD, it was good!

God sees emptiness and gives, gives, gives and creates. He sees His Creation with gratitude for His filling this with  His Goodness. God sees Goodness. He blesses His creation. We - look upon our Spiritual judgments of God's justice - and feel full.

God wants us to be filled with Love, Joy, Peace and Patience. In a straight forward fashion. We can rely upon God.  Then we can see God better and rely on Him more.


The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 
And the Lord God
commanded the man, saying,
“You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Can mankind really feel comfortable judging the LORD? In our ease, we de-bunk the validity of Scriptures, usually without being informed. Relying instead on our own limited time and intuition on earth. The conversation continues today:


3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “ 'Did God actually say', ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

(Emphasis color change added to represent the seed of doubt sown prolifically.)


But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”


We invite the LORD into our conversations about Jesus being the only way into Heaven. We invite Him to be part of the "how can God be so unjust"... conversations.

But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God."


The saved are not to be arrogant or proud.

Abraham was saved for Believing God would save in Mercy. God Adored the Belief of Abraham and called him righteous - just for Believing Good of God.

We cannot judge God's plan of salvation for the unsaved. We shine as lights, not as wet blankets. We do not allow Jesus to be pulled from His Divinity, but we are not placed to judge God's plan of salvation for the weak.


Romans 15:1
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.



What do we say to the lost, the wondering, the pensive? .... Ask them if they don't limit God by the limitations of human weakness.... they will find answers for themselves if they will seek, knock, but the first step should begin.


God has the power to graft them in again.


Jesus spoke on salvation - Who gives us salvation?


Matthew 19:25-26

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said,

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”



Luke 18:1b
They ought always to pray and not lose heart



Father God,

By Your Word alone, the Universe, the Heavens exist. You commanded Light to come into all of mankind through You and the Light that shines in all of Mankind is Jesus.


We pray to uphold Your Word that the Light of prayer and Hope keeps those who have the ears to hear are in awe of You, Father God.

We thank You for helping us to be encouragers, we give thanks for those who encourage, we give thanks for people who encourage each other with specific words of trust and belief in goodness to come forth. We give thanks for those who pray for each other.

We ask blessing, comfort, help, guidance, protection and joy - for those we Love. For those who God Himself has given us. We lift up the Churches believing in Jesus Christ. We lift up the leaders leading us to more Heaven on Earth for this Nation. And those around the earth, let the Nations of God be held high for Blessings. In Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Acts 7:30-34 ~ I have come down to rescue them

The Winner, sculpted by Glenna Goodacre. She designed: The Vietnam Woman's Memorial in Washington D.C. & the obverse of the Sacagawea Dollar for the USA in 2000. She is a native born Texan, unfortunately transplanted to another state.


Acts 7:30-34   (New Revised Standard Version)

"Now when forty years had passed, 

an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, 
there came the voice of the Lord: 'I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' 

Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.'"

You have to love and adore the Bible verses that pack it all in: miracles, acts of God, martyrdom, eloquence, corrupt men of God, valiant deeds, famous words and utmost bravery for the Highest God. 

This is indeed the book of Acts - it is Stephen, the Bible records him having the face of an angel while telling the most important teachers of Israel how they had missed the most important event... the Messiah. 

What angered them the most: being talked down to, Stephen's profound joy, hollow victory of the top position for religious status, repeat problems with a dead/risen man they had famously given an unjust trial - at night, or being accused of murdering the Son of God?

Sanhedrin Council records, records and Talmuds, collected before 400 A.D., report Jesus being alive and a burden to them. After Stephen died they reported this: 
On the eve of the Passover they hung Jeshu [the Nazarene] 
because he hath practices magic 
and deceived 
and led Israel astray. 
And they found naught in his favor.

There were a lot of negative, untrue statements not recorded here, yet written about Jesus in the Sanhedrin Council records, but a list of the positive proof extracted from the negative is this:

• Jesus was alive, they recognized the crowd loved him and they had a dilemma at hand.

• Jesus was born under unusual circumstances.
• Jesus' mother Mary was Heli's daughter.
• Jesus was crucified on the eve of Passover.
• Jesus made himself alive by the name of God.
• Jesus was a son, born of a woman.
• Jesus claimed to be God, the son of God, the son of man.
• Jesus ascended and claimed that he would return again.
• Jesus was near to the kingdom and near to kingship.
• Jesus had at least five disciples.
• Jesus performed miracles, i.e. practiced "sorcery".
• Jesus' name has healing power.
• Jesus' teaching impressed one rabbi.

Stephen's face is the burning bush. How could this man have gone to his death willingly with such ease? 

This Sanhedrin Council did not banish Stephen to live at the outer edges, he was too dangerous. In fury over his joy, they destroyed him immediately & he went down forgiving them.

 I will wonder, how the Sanhedrin Council spent the next several weeks, each person, digesting the destruction of such joy. Constantine was told to kill the family of Jesus in Nazareth. For a week they promised redemption for denying Jesus as Messiah - none would recant Jesus. Constantine had a changed life for the result. Saul encountered Jesus too.

Does one man make a difference? Stephen did not ever win prizes or make a political change - and yet to Love the Lord - lives changed. Millenniums remember Stephen and his joy.


Father God,
The Scriptures are real and true. So many people seek You when life has a knot or a stopping place. You are the Good Father running to His child in difficulties. Never too busy. Heaven always has 12 open gates.

Help us, Father, to let the wild winds and waves of life to look to You. For encouragement, for guidance, for protection, for the belief You have equipped us with gifts to do the works You'd put in front of us.

Help us to believe that in seeking You, we have found You. And to feel Your comfort. The Ways of God are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience. Because this is You, Father God.

We lift up the ones we love in comfort. Knowing You love us best. We lift up the cares and concerns of the People You give us. In Joy, knowing You Love us. And we lift up our Churches, our Nation, the people of the World who know Jesus and the Nations supporting Truth and Peace. In Jesus, redemption, renewal, re-energizing us. 
Amen, so be this for us - His Good Will.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Song of Solomon 2 ~ As a lily among brambles

Song of Solomon 2


I am a rose^{[Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, daffodil]} of Sharon,
a lily of the valleys.

2 As a lily among brambles,
so is my love among the young women.

3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He brought me to the banqueting house,
and his banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with raisins;
refresh me with apples,
for I am sick with love.
6 His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand embraces me!
7 I adjure you,^{[that is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song]}
O daughters of Jerusalem,
by the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.

8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes,
leaping over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.

9 My beloved is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
looking through the lattice.

10 My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
11 for behold, the winter is past;
the rain is over and gone.
12 The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.

13 The fig tree ripens its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.

14 O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is lovely.
15 Catch the foxes for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
for our vineyards are in blossom.”

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he grazes^{[patures his flock]} among the lilies.
17 Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle
or a young stag on cleft mountains.

Love, we are told, makes the world go around. God, the inventor of Love, says Love flourishes with His Laws of Love.

The Roman Republic began in 500 B.C., and upon becoming an Empire, lasted until 395 A.D.. The History of this vast government has a profound, lasting influence on the development of language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of government today. When you look at what brought down this government, I would say conclusively, its marriage laws.

There is a direct correlation in society between up-building and destruction in the way society looks at marriage. When two people are to be one, it is working of the Holy Spirit. It affects the fruit - children - and culture in all aspects.

Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first Emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. Interesting the world was working on marriage during the birth of Christ, calling for David's house to report to Bethlehem. (They've found the census, by the way.)

Augustus was a tidy man, someone who wanted to be a Caesar beyond reproach and his wife, Caesar's wife (whom he proposed to while she was married and pregnant with her other husband's child), as well. Romans had been allowed to marry in different forms and it was all pretty much live and let live as far as marriage went. Augustus decided it needed to be .... Defined and Legal.

 

1. Confarreatio (divorce almost unheard of)was a traditional patrician form of marriage. Divorce for confarreatio marriages, diffarreatio, was a difficult process and therefore rare. A special type of sacrifice that caused the dissolution of the relationship between the man and woman. She would then pass back into her father's home or family. Originally, the confarreatio was indissoluble. The wife leaves her family and becomes her husband's family, or property = cum manu. Later, divorce was easier the dowry returned with the wife.

2. Coemptio (slavery/service) was in essence a sale of the woman to the husband. Coemptio occurred at any time throughout marriage. This was a process of mancipation (slavery/service). The transaction occurred with a scales-holder and in the presence of at least five witnesses, adult male Roman citizens. Coemptio could occur not only with a husband but also with an outsider. However, this process is deemed for the “sake of trust” not for the “sake of marriage.” Coemptio was only a convenient legal practice. If a wife became cum manu through the process of coemptio divorced, then she became emancipated. By the 2nd century AD, a wife was able to compel her husband to emancipate her, a right not shared by her children.

3. Usus (living together, owned by husband) Cum Manu acquired by usus was simply the cohabitation of the husband and wife for the duration of a year. After a year passed the wife was transferred into the ownership of her partner, she was considered taken by the decree of yearly possession. This process required no ceremonial practices. If the woman was not willing to come into ownership of her husband, manus by usus was easily preventable. As conditioned in the Twelve Tables if the wife absented herself for the total of three days and three nights before the end of the year, each year, the marriage was not cum manu, and she was not under the ownership of her husband. If a woman married cum manu through the process of usus divorced then, she became Emancipated. Subsequently, the law of usus was dissolved by legal enactments presumably because it fell out of use..... so Do Not Spend Your Anniversary Together at all costs....

4. Sine Manu (living together, owned by father instead of husband) the wife legally and ritually remained a member of her father's family, standing under the control of her father's potestas. The bride is not under control of the husband. This form of marriage held no ceremonial formalities led by a public official. Ultimately it involved a husband and wife living together under the intention of a marriage, in conjunction with the legal capacity of marriage under the Roman law. Although no official ceremony was held, it was customary for the bride to be escorted to her bridegrooms house. The children of this union were legally members of the husband’s agnatic kin.

Women faced with the loss of property when entering a cum manu marriage began to only consent to sine manu (father's family property) unions (similar to living together, today, to avoid prenuptial agreements and financial wedding issues.)

So, Augustus was trying to put marriage together better for inheritance when he created these types of marriages, legally. They had been used for centuries. When we read the last paragraph in brown, Augustus' goal was promoting self and not promoting a couple living as one person.

Does it sound like these forms of marriages would help sort out society better and then the playing field is easily understood? It had an effect. A definite effect. The love of many grew colder.

Marriage is a work in progress. Dating or living together leads to a non-committed society - free to abandon hearts and children. Those abandoned hearts hurt others, the cycle goes on and on to the detriment of society.

True, we don't consider women property in most of the world today. But we do consider property, income, commitment instead of Christian marriage for love, honor, obey, cherish in sickness and all circumstances. Confarreatio (devoted love forsaking all other things) began to be a thing of the past.

The End of the Empire? Selfishness. Christianity is said to have split the Roman Empire, but really selfishness. Lack of family, a place to go, fairness - is the downfall. Marriage laws made family and oath and position always an uncertainty. Claw your way along.

Weakness created invasion, civil war, plague, economic depression, hyperinflation caused by years of coinage devaluation. A denarius coin, a day's pay, quit using silver and was devalued. Trade increased during the good years of the Empire, but war created large landowners unable to send their goods abroad. Local city dwellers were trapped and unable to buy what they needed by war and unsafe trade on the highways, pledged themselves to local land barons. The Empire broke up into 3 parts in 258 AD. Large, open cities of Classical antiquity slowly gave way to the smaller, walled cities that were common in the Middle Ages.

Alec Gerrard's Temple Model of Solomon's Porch.>

Solomon's Porch, the portion of the first Temple still incorporated into the Second Temple, during the days Jesus chose to teach in the Temple. 

>God saw something marvelous in Solomon and preserved part of the Temple Solomon built. This portion of Scripture is an interesting. Reminding us God, developed human love.  The footnotes are important here and show God intended love to be an oath of commitment. Without commitment and dedication, love becomes a bramble area.

Solomon was visited by the LORD and given the commission to ask for a blessing. He asked for wisdom. Solomon would spend his reign visiting, creating, being absorbed in selfish pursuits of getting the LORD to speak to him in the altars of high places, historically in pagan worship. What would take Solomon away from his Temple built to the Lord? Solomon forgot the Word of God - to be in union with faithful followers of God. Using wisdom to be a worldly wisdom. The effects of Solomon's self-centered absorption would be Solomon's son Rehoboam was not well versed in wisdom, loosing David's Empire for God in the third generation. Wisdom was forgotten in the building of Solomon's House. We see examples of monogamy and polygamy in Scriptures. In polygamy, we see the same examples in the fall of the Roman Empire.


The fig tree ripens its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.


Matthew 13:32
It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.


We live in a world were marriage is now considered to be very expensive. Many couples don't get married because they cannot afford a very large wedding. The Justice of the Peace costs about $140 and is considered a poor substitute for a Church wedding. So, if the whole cake doesn't look pretty, they forgo the wedding, probably to look progressive or worldly instead of poor.

However, we still see jubilant expectant mothers, and mostly because their future with their spouse is secure.

Why would God want us to know of this Glory in His Word. He delights in two very different types of creation, reaffirming their love and commitment in the merging of self into union. God sees this as a celebration of love.

the voice of the turtledove
is heard in our land.

Until the day breathes
and the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like a gazelle

What Beauty He Bestows Upon Us.


Father God with all circumstances in our lives, let us have the ability to trust in You. We want ours souls where You dwell to be a welcoming place for You.

We thank You for diligence with Trust. Many things in life, by Your Plan, are beyond our control. We ask You for the strength of soul Your Good Works require. We lift up those we Love, the People You've given us, our Churches, Nation and all people of the world and their Nations in Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

2 Thessalonians 1 ~ Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy

Thesselonia Osios David Church, 4th Century, House Church model from The Acts of the Apostles

2 Thessalonians 1

1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.


3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

11 To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

People have the grace to see Jesus. We have all heard of the light of mankind shining Grace upon Grace on those who have seen Jesus. I have not seen Jesus, but firmly believe the people who have. No one has seen God the Father. They have seen His Exact Image Jesus Christ.

These fortunate people are representing Generations! Joy, Peace, Patience, Endurance. Hope, Faith, and always LOVE.

Thesselonia Osios David Church, 4th Century, House Church model from The Acts of the Apostles - a Church in continuous Christian operation for 1,600 years.

The Lord Father God encourage, strengthen, enable, embolden and enjoy the hearts who Welcome Him. We ask alllllllll His Blessings Father God delights to give. And those who have Joy in Jesus Christ The Lord.

Help us to take the High Road of Father God's, with Joy, Love, Peace, Diligence and have His Blessings and Protection inside and out to let our footsteps be Mercy and Love.

We ask these blessings for those we Love. We ask the Encouragement of the Holy Spirit to the People He has delighted to give each other. We ask for the upbuilding of the Church of Jesus Christ. The Strengthening of this Nation in Jesus. The upbuilding of all people around the World for Jesus and the nations supporting them. Let the Amen be of His Will!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Nehemiah 1 ~ O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy

Nehemiah 1

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, 2 that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.”

4 As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

5 And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father's house have sinned. 7 We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.

8 Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, 9 but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’

10 They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Now I was cupbearer to the king.


The role of Cupbearer to a King is Crucial.

Psalm 124

Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7
We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
 8
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.



Jesus had John. And Mary.
Paul had Luke and Timothy.
Peter had Silvanus and Mark.

These People were willing to lay down their lives for their Jesus Great Love and each other.

Evidently, Darius held Nehemiah with his compassionate heart in very high regard.
Those mosaics at the top of the post, look about hand sized. Now see the outcropping of the actual respect below. The regard for his integrity, honesty and diligence was great.
Notice the Cupbearer holds the King's back.
This is King Darius, this is Nehemiah.



 

Father God,
Bless the people who encourage and inspire one another. Bless the caregivers.

Thank You so much for the true story of the Movie Woodlawn. In 1972, Hank Erwin felt completely inconsequential. One person could not make a deep difference in life, even in radio. He attended a Billy Graham revival in Dallas, Texas where the lights were put out in the Cotton Bowl. Seeing one lone candle represent Jesus Christ and His love gave Hank Erwin cause to go to Woodlawn High School the day of a knife attach on campus. That day the whole football team decided to change Alabama by accepting Jesus Christ. This lone candle of Jesus changed a state. This was a revival of The Book of Acts. Thank You, Father God, Scripture repeats.

Thank You, Father God, for Great Love and Acts of You, inspiring us to remember - The Love of Jesus Christ.

We lift up, in awe and wonder, our concerns, knowing You see All. We lift up the ones we Love, in awe and wonder, knowing You are a God of Love. We lift up the people You have given us, in awe and wonder, knowing You are the Light in all of mankind. We lift up our Nation, knowing You have given Word to pray for all leaders and in all nations. We lift up all who seek Jesus Christ to thank You for their gifts and talents and have Heaven at hand proclaiming Jesus is Lord of All and is Love.

In the Highest Name of Jesus. His Love is a gift.Thank You. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Daniel 4 ~ From the time that you know that Heaven rules

Cuneiforms documenting daily life of Judean exiles in Babylon on display in Jerusalem. From 597 B.C. perfectly legible today. Looks like.... cookies!

Daniel 4

King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! 2 It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

3
How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and his dominion endures from generation to generation.


4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. 5 I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. 6 So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.

 8 At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream, saying, 9 “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. 10 The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

13 “I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. 14 He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. 17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’

 18 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”


19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. 

The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” 

Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! 20 The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, 21 whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— 22 it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. 23 And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ 

24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, 25 that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. 26 And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.

 27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”


28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 

31 While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 


33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles' feathers, and his nails were like birds' claws.


34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever,

for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;

all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand
or say to him, “What have you done?”

36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 

37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.


Mmmm looks like cookies.
Instead these are 2,612 years old and perfectly preserved clay Cuneiform  telling of the utter desolation of Judah and the taking off all hostages to become slaves, and in the generosity of Nebuchadnezzar - to be termed "exiles" and to await the release and redemption of their nation and Temple.

Given the fact Emperor Nebuchadnezzar, who built Babylon 28 miles square, 14 miles on each side of the Euphrates River with a half mile underground bridge to connect the two. (Rome had 300,000 citizens later.)  between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, had rounded up the wisest and most knowledgeable "exiles" he could find. And when the wise Emperor asked for a daily record of his wise accomplishments - the wise "exiles" baked up for their enslaved Emperor - a humorous historical record. The Bible records the slaves of Egypt were Bakers. And Candle Stick Markers.

Given Emperor Nebuchadnezzar's joy in finding Isaiah knew of Nebuchadnezzar, his first action in the third round up was to haul Jeremiah out of David's jail in his Palace, and Emperor Nebuchadnezzor's interest in Daniel and Ezekiel (giving Ezekiel a house by a small river), the Emperor understood the humor and enjoyed this well enough to insure the documents would be seen by us 2,612 years later in such good array.

Emperor Nebuchadnezzar also was rather like America's Founding Fathers, the Apocrypha written in Babylonian Captivity (with Nicene Council approval and historical truth), tells of Nebuchadnezzar's provision for the "exiles" to have Corporate Worship - Freedom of Religion. 

Not only was Emperor Nebuchadnezzar interested in history, prophecy and humor, he learned enough humility late in life to accept this Biblical record of the balance of honor and ego, wellness and achievement, with recovery based upon honesty and understanding of his personal standing - well below God Almighty of All.

King Jehoaichin is captured and recorded in the Babylonian Chronicles. The king was only 18 and reigned for 3 months. He was captured in the second round up of three carrying nobles, bureaucrats and workers in each round up for their insurrection from their client state and their sworn allegiance for peace with Emperor Nebuchadnezzar II of the Chaldean Babylonian Empire. With the rest of the captives is King Jehoaichin's wife and 5 sons. Must have been an early marriage. Two more sons are born in prison. Until Emperor Nebuchadnezzar releases them to dine at his table daily within 10 years.

The rations of King Jehoiachin's family in prison.

Jehoiachin is captured in March 16, 567 B.C. The second round up of three as Emperor Nebuchadnezzar rather liked God's Temple and wanted a good puppet state. Instead met with all attempts to free themselves.



Father God,  our Father,
Heaven, earth and Life rule as they are upheld by Your Word.

Father You are The Holy Spirit. You speak only Truth to make a way and a life for Your children. We tell you our reasons to earnestly repent and You have said, and will do - the Grace, Forgiveness and Mercy of Jesus - Your only Son.

What You have Spoken - Your Will will be accomplished. Father God does not take back His Words. You are wise and can bring disaster. You will rise up against that wicked nation, against those who help evildoers.

We bless You for Your Words:

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Thank You, Abba, we entrust and enfold the ones we Love in expectation of Your Goodness.  We lift up our families and children, of all ages, to hold on to the Spiritual Gifts You delight in Giving. We hold up the prayers of the People You have given us. 

We Solidly and Completely offer THANKSGIVING for the answered prayers which encourage us each time we think of You, Father. 

We lift up our Nation to be entrusted to You in renewal of hope and faith. We believer in Your provision for the people of Your earth to have hope, faith and love to bring forth Your Great Gifts to raise up Jesus for our Salvation. Father God, bless all nations holding on to You in Trust.
 In Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †