Luke 11:1-13 ~ Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you

Luke 11:1-13

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:

“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3
Give us each day our daily bread,
4
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”

5 And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? 

8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 

11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Scripture rests with other Scripture and in our understanding presents a picture or a lesson we can follow. 
A path. 
A journey. 
A road traveled in relationship. Just as the Lords Prayer rounds us out.

Revelation 1:6
and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Yours is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever and ever! Amen.

Philippians 2:9
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth

The Lord's Prayer encompasses all aspects of Prayer and is perfect in that these are His Words.

We add on our own conversational prayer and we just ask in the name of Jesus. Father God tells us just to talk to Him. And David found if he kept talking to God, God would reveal the Delight Father God has in abundant, highest, wide, Love there is.

So the audacity and impudence of expectant prayer  has a beautiful parallel in the Words of Jesus.



Luke 18:1-8

18 And he told them a parable
to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. 3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ 4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”
6 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

7 And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? 8 I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Who wants to be Equipped to Fulfill the Plan of God?


To live is Christ to die is gain. In the prayers of our thoughts to Father God, and we know HE loves so much of the chitter chatter of our day and our thoughts,

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
16 Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing; 18 in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Luke 9:43
And they were all amazed at the greatness of God. But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing.

Jesus is going with us.


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





How to Daily Journey with Jesus to find His Help in Times of Need along our Journey with Jesus.

We are being led  and becoming equipped to do what He asks us to do. Father God promises us not to forsake us. He shows us in Hebrews 11 we will be equipped, helped, comforted, led, and in triumph to give the Plan He gives us to walk in. When we say God's plan is a hope and a future for us - Father God meets us, to help us to live in hope, faith, peace, love and joy - in expectation.

When we say we rejoice in our sufferings - we are saying life might be a wild ride, but in Jesus we can accomplish this and look back and say - "We did that" and be the woman in Proverbs 31 who "laughs at the time to come."

Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord - equip us in every good thing to do His will, working in us what is pleasing in Your sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever.

We cast our cares to You, Father God, like Peter cast out his net. Working in the direction You'd have us go. We put out our wildest cares to Jesus remembering, You touched the leper and held on. Remembering that You put Your saliva and mud on eyes worn out. Remembering You went through those waiting by a Pool to be healed and You healed. We remember You sat with those in Trouble and we lift Up to You, the ones we love and the People You have given us. Knowing that Your love cradles them as You longed to embrace all of Jerusalem.

We entrust our futures, our Nation, Nations and the People of God to be encouraged, enfolded and re-energized to Go Forth to Bring More Heaven to Earth. Your Plan. Your Will - be done. In Jesus' Great Love. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Psalm 110 ~ The Lord is at your right hand!

Psalm 110

The Lord says to my lord:

“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”

2
The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
3
Your troops will be willing
on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor,
your young men will come to you
like dew from the morning’s womb.

4
The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”

5
The Lord is at your right hand;
he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
6
He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
7
He will drink from a brook along the way,
and so he will lift his head high.

1 Thessalonians 2
3 For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. 5 For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is witness. 6 Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others


The People who love the Lord Father God are not perfect. However there should be sincerity. A desire to please God more than man. A sincerity witnessed at all times and in all situations and with all types of people. Will mistakes be made? The Bible would say so.

The 1980s saw Christians enamored with angels. The 1990s saw Christians read all about the short verse of the prosperity of Jabez - this was all around...surely the 1990s were not that bad or the 1980s! And in this generation the Christian buzz words are "generational curses involved with Masons." Gosh, we are enamored with this a lot.

Well, we all have a guardian angel and that is explained exactly once in 3,000 pages of the Bible.

 Jabez - we don't know much about him, I guess he didn't relate in his painfree state of prosperity to most of the Population. No Good Works were really recorded or messages we can grow from.  Yet... Put me in that number, Father God!

And you won't find Masonic Lodges in the Bible or references to the 1st to 4th century attempt to wipe out Christianity by merely being sniffed at and copied.

The Persian god Mithra was the spiffy tool of the Greek mysteries to take over the freedom of the Gospel and put in this Freedom into secret Greek rites. Mithraism -The Mithraic Mysteries were a mystery religion practiced in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to 4th centuries AD. These mysteries made sure to look more permanent than Jesus who was slain on a tree. These people were serious. They had 'gods' and many Christian things were copied deliberately to say the diety of the slain "God" was a copy of them. No one was permitted to be initiated into them , unless gradually higher mysteries of Mithras were completed, until the candidate should show himself holy and steadfast by undergoing tests. These tests were supposedly concrete instead of relationship oriented.

Sometimes people felt more comfortable with the earned 'mysteries of rituals'. Not relationship. Yet this passed away. The Word of God remains. Forever.

The Bible says generations swing like pendulums - one generation holds fast and the next falls down. Our generations like balance and if we go to Heaven, then we descent to physical or riches. This is the fallen nature of us all. The Bible would say this holds truth. 








John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free

1 Corinthians 15:52
in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

Revelation 22
22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month

Jesus said we would do greater works than Jesus. What if... in Heaven the road is optional, and the river running down the middle of the street - that in Jesus - we walk on the River of the Water of Life. Almost like saying... we walk upon the water of Salvation Jesus offers us.






This is the long way of saying this - the Bible's wisdom is without depth or end. Generational curses have been spoken of since Moses. And Jesus came to set us free from our sins. Jesus is our freedom. 

Jesus sets us free.

Not buzz words of misunderstanding the fact we live in a fallen and broken world with degrees of generational curses to make us unholy and unrighteous. The Bible is the lifeline - the Way, the Truth, The Life - to discover the Promises of God the Father in His Son Jesus Christ.

Jesus sets us free.

When Jesus offers us Salvation, we should know this is paid for with a Cost.
The Universe, our world, this blue ball floating in no light, air or gravity, exists by the Word of God. Father God commands. Joseph was commanded in Matthew 1, and Joseph listened. Father God sends us into this world - like the way we send our children to college or the military - to grow up. He is silent enough for us to become who we are. Yet He is the Good Father waiting at the 12 open gates to run to us as we finish.

What have we done with ourselves? We are offered Salvation. We cannot purchase this. We can not redeem ourselves again, saying what Jesus did is unimportant. We can look at our purchased and wiped clean souls, our two hands and be like formerly blind Bartimaeus, who wanted to walk with His Savior.

Jesus sets us free.

 

When my soul's eyes see Jesus - I surely know I will need His Grace. I hope Jesus and Father God will tell me they like what I did with my soul and the souls He has placed near or in my care. Because the fine day will come, where I want to see Jesus and Father God looking for me in the distance - knowing He is smiling - the Prodigal Child has come HOME!

What can we know of Heaven? Jesus Christ the Lord has promised us Heaven. We believe Jesus. When we read the Word of God - we can hear Him speak by the warming of our hearts.

Here is what my heart speaks to me of going Home to Jesus the Lord:


We will be with Christ

Luke 23:43
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

It will be better than being on earth
2 Corinthians 5:8
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

We will be eating and drinking like Jesus Resurrected and eating with the disciples. John 21.

“Restoration of all things” Acts 3:21 





Revelation 1 

2 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me.

17 Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!"

Therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery

 

Revelation 2 

You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent

I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!

to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.

the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword.

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

 


Revelation 3

These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.

I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.


Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

 

21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.








Revelation 4

And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.

We will greet new loved ones in Heaven knowing their news.

We will see the most magnificent Throne of Father God and understand His Holiness.


Revelation 5

We will see the multitudes of Heaven being cared for. And see how worthy Jesus is doing this. We will begin to understand the height and depth of His Love. And understand why this worship is so Good.

Our weeping and the care we have given others, will see fulfillment.



Revelation 6

We will understand better the days of wrath on earth. God's Plan is more understood by us.




Revelation 7

The days of sorrow are eclipsed to see the multitudes who have Joy in Father God.

15
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
16
‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
nor any scorching heat.
17
For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”




Revelation 8

He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand.

We will see that God rules the earth and the fulfillment of the earth is His.




Revelation 9

We will know the earth exists only during God's timing.



Revelation 10

We will know God has been for us for generations and generations.
Father God is working to this day.



Revelation 11

Time is merely a cage on earth. In Heaven we will see things like the time of the Temple in Jerusalem.
God will begin to show us the reclamation of all things to Father God.

9 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. 



Revelation 12

We will see some terrible and fierce things of the earth we would not wish to see. Learning
dark is not dark to Father God - He is Light - there is no darkness in Him.


Revelation 13

Father God will assure us HE was not absent when horrible and dire things occurred.
In His wisdom and holiness, this is to be rewoven, renewed and set completely right.


Revelation 14

We understand the building of Father God's Kingdom is like the wedding feast Jesus told us of.
We see the glories of His Love and what the People who have Loved God have brought forth into this life
love and care in time and ages and in generations. We understand with eyes that see and ears that hear, why God would so love the world to send His ONLY Begotten SON to make sure we did not perish, but have everlasting life.


Revelation 15

We see illness on earth like the plagues and know we lost loved ones to illnesses and see that this mattered profoundly to Father God. A grain must fall into the ground to find new life. Jesus wept with Lazarus and His Beloved.


Revelation 16

The wrath for those who would not profoundly care for this work of illness and suffering. The earth shaking and shattering time. God calls this giving others blood to drink.


Revelation 17

The basis of all evil is the love of money. We see how we can become lost to ourselves if we pursuit this shelter instead of Father God and His Love.



Revelation 18

Lament for the loss of any of God's precious children. He is the Father of us all.



Revelation 19

19 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2
for true and just are his judgments.


6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
7
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
8
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”

(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)

9 Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”


Revelation 20

The pendulum of time. The wonder of the Acts of those who Love Father God.

4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.


Revelation 21

The Good News

21 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

The fire of evil will die, this is the merciful second death.

Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.


Revelation 22

Rejoice we will see what is comfortable and beautiful. Familiar from Father God, the Creator of All Things.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Father God,
We surely and without doubt know the mystery to Faith is Yours. The people who read Isaiah knocked upon Herod's door to see the King of Kings. Yet in the Love of Jesus Christ, You provide us with some insight to the Glories of Jesus in Father God.

For all of us The Book of Revelation will be different. Because You have told us we all have a different place and gift, talent, ability of faith, hope and Love. We all are part of the Body of Jesus and see aspects to You. The Father who Fills All of the Heavens and is the Light in all of Mankind.

Your Word is living and active. We can look past to the millenniums and know when Abraham went forth to please You, You were pleased. Abraham believed You and You credited Abraham with the Righteousness of Jesus. In You we are Covered Mightily. Abraham pressed You for Goodness and You made Abraham the Father of Nations because You love to be expected to Do Good as David knew so well.

Father God, this life tests us and perplexes us, be our Light, our Path and our Strong Deliverer. We lift up the ones we Love knowing that You Love more. We lift up the People You have given us in our lives and ask Your help and comfort and joy for them. We lift up leaders who call forth Your Mercy and Profound Love. We say In God We Trust and we shall not be ashamed. We ask the Light of Jesus Christ to shine in all of mankind and the Glorious Love of Jesus - The Holy One of God - is to bring forth more Heaven to this earth in the Love You told us is the New Commandment.

In Expectation, we look to the Future, knowing You hear all our prayers and Your Love is always present. Heaven's 12 Open Gates. Father God, we give You thanks for Love enduring in perseverance, joy, for Love opens minds, hearts and lives. JESUS, YOU ARE THE LORD MOST HIGH. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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 †