Psalm 147:4,5 ~ He calls them each by name

 

 

Psalm 147:4,5

He determines, tells, calls the number of the stars 

into being; 

He calls them each by name. 

Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; 

His understanding has no limit.

We all tend to go about our day

as if one day tells the tale to the next.

And then we go on vacation and find some of the

Beauties and Glimpses

of Heaven on earth.

When we see the wonder on a child's face

we know the joy of awe

and wonder.

And understand, completely, the Scripture saying

we become the millstone sunk into the depths of the deep

to take this awe from a child.

This week, we received rain.  And storms, complete with deep rumbling Thunder.  The weather reported this as if one day tells its tale to another. Yup, rain. Traffic, delays.  Wait a minute, wait a minute. Wait. Edward and I flew into Seattle in 2018. I've heard of the famous rains of Seattle allll my life. It's emerald green, like the land of Oz.  Not Arizona.  And in fact, Seattle hadn't had rain of any generous proportion for 6 years. 6 years and the news had not reported this tremendous drought. Which fact is going to shock you more.  

We went to see Alaska, we witnessed such pristine beauty, Genesis came to my mind, this must have looked like Genesis. Mist was everywhere. I was in awe. My mother-in-law, graciously, took the family to Alaska. The lady who just turned 90 years old. And I was sitting at the dinner table, by myself, and Judy sat down next to me.  She said you are so intent on seeing, what do you see so intently. Oh, Judy, I see Genesis! The clarity of the light, the incredible clean. Knowing, as you see these mountains and ranges, no one has ever put their foot upon them. And the sunrise, tomorrow, will reveal another portion. The mists of creation. The whales jumping from the sea. Leviathan. The elk. The moose. The lands gifted to the tribes.  The Church in Sitka. The icon that floated.  Genesis. Building that Church with ships sailing through ice in the middle of such a wilderness. 

And as we completed our journey, British Columbia, has this incredible system for retrieving lumber, that does not mar the land. It's selective and wonderful. And as we journeyed back, British Columbia had the first extensive forest fire in recorded, not very long in earth terms, history. 

YES, WE HAVE HAD RAIN!

Our son Alexander went on a wonderful trip with his gracious grandmother in 2009, to Switzerland and Russia. And... as they returned, Siberia caught fire. And that's been more than 200 years since a forest fire.

YES, WE HAVE HAD RAIN!

As a child, growing up in Dallas, we always loved the rainstorms. And classrooms usually had a whole wall of windows. Weather was good.  About the time, February 12, 2013, the Vatican had a clap of lightning the day Pope Benedict retired, a friend, had a clap of lighting strike a tree nearby. Creating a spark of friction in their house, frying the refrigerator, a newish one, which created a spark, striking all of their appliances and creating a need for the fire department to watch their home and, indeed, a fire started a few hours later and was put out. Because the fire department stood their ground watching. And within about 3 months, life was the same as before. 

My son witnessed, during his summer camp counselor, lifeguard years, an approaching storm sent the children from the outdoor pool, to the indoor pool.  Then the manager came to him and said lightning was within 5 miles, get the 70 children out of the indoor pool. Cal was having a time of it, the children found it exciting to move due to a storm, and they felt, collectively, this was overly cautious.  Finally, whistles came out, and the children had a young girl, camp counselor dive into the midst of them to sort them out - get out of the pool. The thunderstorm moved in quickly. A tree was struck nearby. Just as, the young woman reached for the chrome handle of the indoor pool. A mere spark was seen. Cal was standing and watching her, was the additional eyewitness. She fell back into the pool, Cal saw her face and asked if she was alright. She clearly said, "Yes, just winded me as the spark..." She continued to tread water, but was silent. Then her eyes rolled back in her head and she went under. Cal grabbed the pole and maneuvered her to the side. As she glided to the side, he was able to grab her arm, then arms and others rushed up to pull her to the concrete.  Cal had taken CPR to become a lifeguard, and he administered CPR after calling out to another counselor to call 911, an Ambulance. CPR was given, worked and she was still unconscious.  The Ambulance arrived as she regained consciousness.  The young woman was disoriented and wondering what had happened.  She would spend 2 days in the hospital to have fluids and be checked, return to work, alive and well. Cal had saved her life. Knowing CPR and how to get her out of the water as fast as possible.

Psalms 19:1-4

Day after day they tell the story; 

night after night they tell it again. 

They have no speech or words; they have no voice to be heard. 

But their message goes out through all the world; 

their words go everywhere on earth.

Ephesians 3:17-19 ~ grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge —that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

When I worked at Pro Life, most of the time when asked why the difficulty had arrived in life, the answer was boredom. Regular life is too routine.  We know we have a choice to be joyful. When we lose it, we will choose it. Joy. We have the right to look at ordinary life and choose to find The Lord. Choose to live in His Love. Choose to be one of the people who bring Heaven to earth.  

Establish a lifelong pattern

of actively finding the Joy

and the Blessing.

Being the Blessing.

We can look at life as being the Blessing of God seekers, finders and bringers. 

Lightning is something we live with, when we are blessed to have rain. Blessed. 

Psalm 97

The Lord reigns, 

Let the earth rejoice;

    let the many coastlands be glad!

2 Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him;

    righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

3 Fire goes before Him

    and burns up His adversaries all around.

This Gif lightning started off as pink, but went white. 

We had pink, only, this afternoon!

4 His lightnings light up the world;

    the earth sees and trembles.

5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

    before the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

    and all the peoples see his glory.

7 All worshipers of images are put to shame,

    who make their boast in worthless idols;

    worship him, all you gods!

8 Zion hears and is glad,

    and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

    because of your judgments, O Lord.

9 For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;

    you are exalted far above all gods.

10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil!

    He preserves the lives of his saints;

  He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Light is sown for the righteous,

    and joy for the upright in heart.

12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

    and give thanks to His holy name!

 Yesterday, Edward really wanted a good steak for his Birthday.  He suggested a restaurant and I then, typically, suggested my favorite.  And we had this round discussion for a few minutes. And I sort of realized, hey maybe, this is Edward's Birthday. Let's also mention, Edward didn't want a BD huge gift this year and, in fact, didn't think of one he wanted. He knew I wanted something in connection to my mother, and he said, "This year, let's celebrate my birthday buying you this item." Life offers joy and blessings. Always remember.

And we headed out last night. I thought we were going to the Grand Parkway, but actually, we went into town. And as we pulled in, I realized I'd been to the Fuddrucker's next door with my brother, John, when he had lived in Houston. And we walked into Taste of Texas, I discovered, I'd been in the gift shop with John.  We sat down. I looked at Edward and said, my mother has been here with John and said this was a favorite of his and then became a favorite of my mom's.  I'd worn my mother's Greek Konstantino cross.  Almost for the first time. Because, she had annoyed me by buying an exact copy of almost my cross.  And I told her she had annoyed me. My mother said, with much emotion, share the goodness in life. Be glad for beauty and to know you have beauty within you. 

Awe and wonder. See He surrounds us. Even the thunder.

His lightnings light up the world

Life forevermore in Jesus Christ.

Abba, Father,

We thank You for rain

and Your thunder.

Psalm 29:1

The voice of the LORD is over the waters; 

the God of glory thunders, 

the LORD thunders over the mighty waters. 

The voice of the LORD is powerful; 

the voice of the LORD is majestic

Thank You for 

the glimpses of Heaven.

The understanding

all of the stars

are Yours.

All of the Heavens are Yours.

Give us this day

and in the daily bread

let us have

gratitude

awe

and 

wonder.

Dwell in us, mightily, Father.

Dwell in us as the small voice.

Dwell in us, please, Father.

Dwell in those we Love.

Help us to seek You first.

And we will finish well in Jesus Christ.

Thank You for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Lord

and is working,

we ask in this prayer,

in the Highest

Name of Jesus 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Thanks be unto the Lord

Luke 9:57-62 ~ The Kingdom of God

 

ANTIOCH

You have your little Judea, your better Syria, but ahhhhhhhh Antioch. You've arrived. This is the Place. Beautiful Antioch. Twenty-one times, the New Testament says 'Antiahhhhhhoch'.

Who was here?

1. Barnabas, Cousin to John Mark, Mark's gospel, with Peter to the end. Barnabas took some of the oldest Scriptures to India.

2. Simeon, who was called Niger, This is the Gospel. This is the first Civil Rights Movement. This man took the Gospel to Alexandria.

3. Lucius of Cyrene,  Simeon, probably traveled with Mr Libya. They are taking the Gospel to the Next Continent.

4. Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the Tetrarch  You are "Absolutely" in trouble for running around with Christian infidels if you are a pal of Herod. This Herod is Herod Antipas. A lesser known Herod? Oh, noooo. This Herod is put on the throne by the census taking Emperor Augustus. Nephew of Caesar. King since 4 B.C. Married to his sister-in-law Herodias, this Herod is rather Touchy. One is in Danger, traveling with the Christ Disciples

Giving a whole new meaning to - "Men the Roman Empire is upset who are running around Proclaiming Jesus as God."

5. Saul. Believe me, they were not grubbing around in Antioch. Paul was one of the best educated at the Temple by Gamaliel - himself. Paul had the best credentials.

Later...

6. John - This is the first man adopted by the incredible Sacrifice of Jesus. He is now the son of Mary, Mother of God. Plenty of courage. John stayed to the last breath of Jesus Christ.

These tile Mosaics - are they found in Judea - yes, thanks for thinking of this - yes, they are found in Caiaphas - High Priest Home. "Worship no 'Image'".

Antioch tells us - Living was not just hand to mouth. Not desperate times and desperate measures to worship "Something". Telling us just like Paul's superior education. Peter's superior style of living and gracious house.  Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch - not just the men who could squeak under the prosecution wire. Not just the outsiders.  The Light of Jesus Christ was reaching across Impossible Borders and Boundaries. Not just Susanna, wife to Herod's Steward.





Antioch, northern Syria, near the Turkish border. 300 B.C., Antioch was a very important political and cultural center of the Hellenistic East and one of the great metropolises of the Roman Empire.

Howard Crosby Butler, Princeton professor of Art and Archaeology and the founder of the School of Architecture, led a series of archaeological expeditions to Syria (1899-1900, 1904-5, and 1909). The collective aim was to record the remains of ancient buildings and settlements. The results of those expeditions were published in several volumes that remain standard research tools for the study of late antique architecture in Syria. Some of the buildings are from 200 A.D. He discovered a city blended from 200 A.D. to 500 A.D.

Although Antioch was mentioned in many literary sources, very little was known about the physical city until 1932, when a consortium of institutions led by Princeton University conducted the first of seven seasons of excavations that would eventually uncover a remarkable wealth of finds, expanding our knowledge of the metropolis and its culture. Despite the challenges posed by the fact that much of the ancient city had been buried by up to 10 meters of soil washed down from the slopes of Mount Silpios, which towers above the town at the east, the excavations there
and in the surrounding area we're able to uncover the remains of more than
80 buildings,
including two theaters,
six public baths,
a hippodrome,
and two major churches.

In addition to these public buildings, some of the porticoed streets for which Antioch was famous in antiquity, were unearthed, along with numerous residential structures.

200 A. D.


Butler deemed this suburban residence a villa of a well-to-do family from nearby Bostra. The huge residence, measuring ca. 80 x 60 meters in plan, was later transformed into a village. Symmetrically organized around a central courtyard, the entire complex, including the residential wing, was enclosed by a high stone wall. The focus of the residential wing was a large (10 x 10 meters) two-story room, internally divided by a large arch resting on massive engaged piers. Probably introduced for structural reasons, internal transversal arches of this type became ubiquitous features of residential buildings in Syria.

Luke 9:57-62

As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 

59 To another He said, “Follow me.” 

But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 

60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 

61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 

62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 

Who else went to Antioch? If you looked late in Jerome's life for him in Rome

 - you would have just missed him. He retired young to ... Antioch!  Ahhh, Beautiful Antioch.

St. Jerome. Jerome feast day of 30 September, c. 342 – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Catholic priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. 

 Jerome is well known, for 1,700 years, for his translation of the Bible into Latin, the Vulgate and his commentaries on ..... the whole Bible. Jerome created a translation of the Old Testament based on a Hebrew version, rather than the Septuagint, the miraculous work from memory of scholars. 

Jerome's list of writings is extensive. Jerome wrote polemical and historical essays, always from a Christian perspective. Not entirely out of the ordinary, as this was the Beginning of Christianity approval.

Jerome was known for his teachings on Christian moral life, especially to those living in cosmopolitan centers such as Rome. Often, he focused his attention on the lives of women and identified how a woman devoted to Jesus should live her life! Jerome.... loved friends, fellowship and women. He had close patron relationships with several prominent female ascetics who were members of affluent senatorial families.

Due to his work, Jerome is recognized as a saint and Doctor of the Church by the Catholic Church, and as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Anglican Communion. And he retired rather young and went to.... Antioch.

Ahhhhhhh, LORD!

Matthew 22:29

Jesus answered and said unto them, 

“Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. When we quote Scripture, it is important to be sincere. Jesus, in Luke 9, told these men not to fulfill the path seemingly God had given them.  David, and his men, ate the bread of show bread from the Temple, for hunger.  Jesus and His Disciples ate grain from the field as they walked, on a Sabbath.

People say today, find your truth. Not Biblical.  I know my step-grandfather, as an Episcopalian Priest, angered his family when he would announce something like taking another job, that God had told him. One of the things Scripture would tell us about.

We are told that Scripture is living and active - by the Lord Himself.  As we read Scripture with open hearts, we find new verses come alive to us. And in the same way, we should know all the Scriptures to not be judgmental.  Or uninformed to say, do what you think is right, in the Book of Judges we find chaos because, "each man decided for himself what was right." 

2 Kings 22 is about King Josiah. Judah had fallen so far from God, when Josiah decided the Temple was not even maintained. As they cleaned the Temple, they discovered the Book of the Law. And just as Jerome cared for women, they discovered the Book of the Law and needed someone to interpret this.  They had to search up someone with prophetic ability.

2 Kings 22: 14, 15  - 18-20

 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me”

Continues to

 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.

Knowing the Scriptures is God of Love. Not just all about just knowing a phrase and gluing it like a phylactery to one's forehead. In the Book of Acts, Philip is asked to explain Scripture. And he does with a baptism as well. And then Philip is parted from the new believer.  God intends the new believer to act upon the Word of God and to do like Elijah and hear the voice of God in his heart.

To discern God's will, and to have peace. The father, seeking healing for his son, cried out to Jesus Himself, "Help me, I have faith, help me to have more." 

Jesus calls His Holy Spirit, Help, Helper and Comforter.  To serve God, Scriptures always tell us the world has trouble, but to know like 2 Kings 22, to seek to please God - is - to please God.

Abba, Father,

We pray as the Gulf and oceans cool,

the weather will come to us

in relief and gently.

And as we deal with one another.

Gently and to ask respect

and brotherly love.

Bless this Nation,

and worldwide,

to regain

Jesus and know

the Scriptures

and His Love.

Jesus is the Lord

and is working,

we ask in this prayer,

in the Highest

Name of Jesus 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Thanks be unto the Lord

and His Blessing

to all who Love Him

bringing

more Heaven to earth