Habakkuk 2 ~ silent

Three days into Hurricane Beryl, is like being held in a time capsuuule 

All through the day, how the hours rush by, 

sit at home and watch the little tree branches diiiiie.

Saturday night in Toledo, Ohio is like being nowhere at all. 

All through the day how the hours rush by. 

You sit in the park and you watch the grass die!

Habakkuk 2

I will take my stand at my watchpost

    and station myself on the tower,

and look out 

to see what 

He will say to me,

    and 

what I will answer 

concerning my complaint.

2 And the Lord answered me:

“Write the vision;

    make it plain on tablets,

    so he may run who reads it.

3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time;

    it hastens to the end—it will not lie.

If it seems slow, wait for it

Houston has some very unexpected and, determined as terrible, weather. In just a few weeks.

Waiting aftermath, is as much fun as sitting in a house without an air conditioner, paying for an expensive air conditioner, upset in many directions, with small and overheated, children.  And parental concerns over pet and child health in the heat.  Seeing your yard look worse than ever. Making adjustments while concerned about all the events. Enduring a possible water loss. Remembering other similar events in life. Feeling bogged. Overwhelmed. Droopy.

Yes, the Scripture title is all of Habakkuk 2, yet you see only the 3 verses.

People who have endured a Hurricane,

have not only had their barometric pressure all shoook up,

but their internal lava lamp has quaked, rattled and rolled. 

This is life and are the stages of grief. 

We will climb this. Overcome. Find our Joy.

Begin:

You have euphoria to have survived! 

And nothing looks greener than survival.  The Hurricane Storm passed!  

Then you have, possibly, electricity and television. You have news of the events surrounding you. It will not be good news. Seeing helicopters saving people from drowning situations. People who are elderly and need shelters with transportation. Vast numbers will be told about electrical outages and information outages. Calls to 911. Flood photos. Damage photos. Just plain human suffering.  You will experience sorrow. And ask The Lord why.

Gratitude will guiltily arrive next. Having gratitude to have Survival and eyesight. Hearing. Health. Loved ones. Pets. And probably a roof. 

That night, there will be noise. A generator nearby.  And you will experience the sleeplessness of having your lava lamp quaked, rattle and roll. Then you will decide you are very uncomfortable. And now not happy. People are not happy. You have reached the waiting phase.

Day two. The green debris is now looking dead and much more sorrowful. Your phone, information and electricity are affected, and you feel the effects. Next. The Sort Phase. How Is Your Life. Do you feel like you have reached the Blessed Mountain? In the Exodus, Deuteronomy 27 and Joshua 8 teach us Mount Gerizim is the Mount of Blessings and Mt Ebal is the Mount of Curses.  And how do you feel about being braggy about being safe or with a generator?  Or will you look to everything you could blame for anything to tell the people around you, life is trouble.  Gather a crowd to complain.

Warmth. Very warm. Uncomfortable with each breath.

Will you draw every negative feeling about the heat, the utility of electric and water? 

Will you offer up the government for not spending a lot of money on drainage and river and street digging? 

Will your words tell your family who is negligent and overly something sassy or something, lifting and guiding or making hopes and hearts droop. 

Or solutions, walks, outings and any solution possible. 

Or, like me, will you be just irritable and then decide you have been irritable.  Yeah.

And why. 

The most important part of the last 3 paragraphs is this:  

If we overlook our blessings, they will pass by. Pass on. 

You have people who are old to call and see and go to. You have them. You have children, you will help. Not only that, but you feed your soul, remembering what you are truly grateful for. You decide to do all you can to make this transition time a time that will not beat you down. The more determined we are to stay on Mount Gerizim, the more we will be on Mount Gerizim.

What Mt Ebal will do for you; you are not blessed. You have been taken advantage of. Others are already getting help. In fact, lazy people are sitting around waiting to collect a paycheck, and you are at the last of their line. No one is worried about you. Life sucks. It is difficult to even want to pick up the garbage. Because it is all so tiresome. And I hear you. As we age, we have less energy. Moses didn't even feel blessed at age 79.  Nor Sarah. God showed up for Gideon when he was having 3 Mount of Ebal moments. What was Gideon saying? OH LORD, I am part of a failing nation. I am in the worst of the ratios. And I am the least of my clan and neighborhood. Why can't I have lived in the days of Glory?  Because I am a subspecies.  AND THE LORD ANSWERED. Be brave. Be hopeful. Listen to GOD. 

He Did. He Does. He Will. GOD.

Gideon didn't exactly leap to the chance. 

He wanted more of God's Conversation and His Works. He didn't really want to do the work God gave him. And a little, by a little. More conviction and confidence grew. The work God gave began to get done. Faith was moving. 

Gideon looked around to decide how to end the cycle. Small steps were taken. Even if it is a window screen. Gideon walked around and went to public places. Water was considered. How to was considered. God began to move and help. Jesus Christ healed, and He said things like, go to the Pool of Siloam. Sent. Go to being sent. Go see ... Pick up your.... Help your fellow man. Use your gifts. Have Hope. Reach out. Offer to help one another.  Gideon... began to feel grateful for those around him! 

Find your Gratitude.

Be part of Heaven on earth.

See Heaven on earth.

Do Heaven on earth.

In His Good Will.

How will this arrive at your door?

Houston had 127 mph wind in June. Unexplained, not from the ocean, 127 mph winds a month ago. And within a week, the people who had seen the grid collapse, literally. Those with high voltage power cables and towers looked like a bomb had gone off, they had electricity within a week.  And when we had historic flooding, people had help.  And again, with time and effort, we will recover.  In neighborhoods, in communities, in Churches, in cities, states, nationally and worldwide. From within, The Holy Spirit. Hope. Faith. Love.

Peace is flowing like a River.

Flowing out to you and me.

Flowing out to set the prisoners free.

Love is flowing like a River.

Flowing out to you and me.

Flowing out to set the prisoners free.

Lord Jesus.

2 And the Lord answered me:

“Write the vision;

    make it plain on tablets,

    so he may run who reads it.

3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time;

    it hastens to the end—it will not lie.

If it seems slow, 

wait for it;

    it will surely come; 

it will not delay.

4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,

    but

The righteous shall

 live

 by his faith.

5 “Moreover, wine is a traitor,

    an arrogant man who is never at rest.

His greed is as wide as Sheol;

    like death 

he has never enough.

He gathers for himself all nations

    and collects as his own all peoples.”

6 Shall not all these take up their taunt against him, 

with scoffing and riddles for him, 

and say,

“Woe to him who heaps up what is not his own—

    for how long?—

    and loads himself with pledges!”

7 Will not your debtors suddenly arise,

    and those awake who will make you tremble?

    Then you will be spoil for them.

8 Because you have plundered many nations,

    all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,

for the blood of man and violence to the earth,

    to cities and all who dwell in them.

9 “Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,

    to set his nest on high,

    to be safe from the reach of harm!

10 You have devised shame for your house

    by cutting off many peoples;

    you have forfeited your life.

11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,

    and the beam from the woodwork respond.

12 “Woe to him who builds a town with blood

    and founds a city on iniquity!

13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of Hosts

    that peoples labor merely for fire,

    and nations weary themselves for nothing?

 For the earth will be filled

    with the knowledge 

of the Glory of the Lord

    as the waters cover the sea.

15 “Woe to him who makes his neighbors drink—

    you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,

    in order to gaze at their nakedness!

16 You will have your fill of shame instead of glory.

    Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!

The cup in the Lord's right hand

    will come around to you,

    and utter shame will come upon your glory!

17 The violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,

    as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,

for the blood of man and violence to the earth,

    to cities and all who dwell in them.

18 “What profit is an idol

    when its maker has shaped it,

    a metal image, a teacher of lies?

For its maker trusts in his own creation

    when he makes speechless idols!

19 Woe to him who says to a wooden thing, Awake;

    to a silent stone, Arise!

Can this teach?

Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,

    and there is no breath at all in it.

But 

The Lord is in His Holy Temple;

    let all the earth

 keep silence 

before Him.”

Abba, Father,

Abba, Father,

The aftermath winds are blowing rain,

to cool Houston off. 
Thank God!

 Texas faced Hurricane Beryl.

We saw the eye of the Hurricane.

As much as mankind studies,

we do not tame the wind.

Mankind doesn't even do 

perfectly to predict the wind.

We ask of You

in the Name of Jesus Christ

for Your Mercy

and Protection

and Help.

We pray from Your Word:

Psalm 57

Be merciful to us, O God, be merciful to us, 

for in You 

my soul takes refuge; 

in the shadow of Your Wings 

I will take refuge, 

till the storms of destruction pass by. 

I cry out to God Most High, 

to God 

Who fulfills His Purpose for me.

Dwell in us, please, Father.

Dwell in those we Love.

Help us to seek You first.

In Jesus Christ, we will finish well.

To see

to bring

to be

more daily

Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done

on earth

as in Heaven

In Jesus Christ is 

Our Love, Joy and Hope.

Bless those working for

Post Pandemic Healing

and 

Care

with Faith, Hope and 

LOVE.

Thank You for Jesus.

To You, our Father, be the Glory

Our God is an Awesome God! 

Amen and Alleluia

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

†

YES, Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You, Jesus

Mark 6:1-6 ~ Mighty Words done by His Hands

 

Nazareth 1901

View from Nazareth today

Mt Tabor 

Valley of Jezreel

Mark 6:1-6

He went away from there and came to His hometown, and His Disciples followed Him. 

And on the Sabbath

He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? What is the wisdom given to Him? How are such mighty works done by His Hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 

4 And Jesus said to them, 

“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 

5 And He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His Hands on a few sick people and Healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief.

And He went about among the villages teaching.

The Scriptures are bold. 

There is no spin, no propaganda. Jesus has trouble going to do good works among the people who knew Him as a child, teen and adult. We understand in Scriptures, in Nazareth, Jesus is seen to be from a good, loving family. And not exactly blending in.  Scriptures boldly say Nazareth isn't a ray of sunlight to the Living Grace upon Grace of the Ministry of Jesus Christ.

And like Zacchaeaus

In Luke 19, in the Sycamore tree, the Son of God, it matters more what He Sees. Not watchful, watchtower, Nazareth.

Nazareth saw Mary betrothed and unmarried, pregnant 

Mary heading off to Bethlehem with the son of David, Joseph.  Nazareth knew Mary and Joseph then went to the Temple to present their son and off to live in Egypt.  Of course, they knew. Gabriel and Zachariah and Elizabeth would have been such a wonder. Shepherds know Shepherds. Tribe marries Tribe.  Temple wonders discussed from rural Priest Zachariah to rural Priest Nazareth.

Nazareth, 

Joseph returned with Mary and Jesus, eventually, to live in Nazareth. God saw something in Nazareth.  We cannot in faith believe God chose Mary and Joseph, but the surroundings were something He just tossed in. Planned by God. Nazareth.

John jumps in right away. 

Nazareth. Surely, what could come of Nazareth, Nathanael asks, laughing.  And John makes the comment eternal. Jesus takes the moment and Nazareth is included, very well.  In fact, so well, Acts records The Christ of God has a brand new title, "Jesus Christ of Nazareth."

Nazareth stands above the prophetic teachings of Jesus when He mentions, Bethsaida, Chorazin and His Beloved Capernaum. Not bad for the people who decided to Throw Jesus Christ Over and into the Abyss. He merely walked away.  We are left to decide how He would do this Sign. No Sign was Given in explanation. Interesting. Jesus always is. Our Jesus.

Paul Harvey would have something to say, About the Rest of the Story.  

We learn about Jesus' biological family, traveling Husbands and Wives to explain their Jesus and His Salvation. And then we have vivid, accurate, believed and true, well written, known and quoted Bishop of Caesarea, Eusebius, (b. 260 AD, d. May 30, 339 AD, age 74 to 79. The average age of death 30 years in this era.) So many famous men quoted Eusebius, his writings are well known, when his papyrus of his own isn't found. Eusebius explains the extreme and horrible torture sent by Emperor Diocletian, to send his little nephew, future Constantine I, to torture the nephews of Jesus and their families to renounce Jesus as false.  And what occurs In Nazareth? Where the family of Jesus chose to live after traveling the world.  The descendants of Jesus chose death instead of dishonor. Jesus Christ was upheld. 

John's 1st Chapter, reveals Nazareth has warmth. Even when Jesus jests with Nathanael. 

Just as the grave under the Vatican has the 62-year-old Peter, crucified upside down, the bones show Peter was cut by the ankles off the cross. Buried in the foreigner's graveyard, where pilgrims would put a huge Rock stone to cover Peter's grave. Jesus's Rock.

Jesus in Caesarea:

We find Nazareth saw the birth of the worldwide Church of Jesus Christ.  In extreme sacrifice. Jesus told of the Church in Roman Caesarea. The future Bishop of Caesarea would report the circumstances of Constantine's reason to proclaim Jesus Christ Alive and Christianity miraculously arrived. Jesus alive and knowing The Father.  Eusebius was a boy when he saw Constantine. On the road with his soldiers. Marching by. Turned out to be marching from Rome to Nazareth. 

An amazing cloud of witnesses. Recorded for us. The Bible in our hands is a miracle of God.

An Amazing Cloud of Witnesses

What does the Dead Sea Scroll tell us of Jesus?

The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them

These miracles are told scattered here and there through Isaiah. Matthew, Disciple of Jesus, tells us they are pulled together and displayed clearly. A cataclysm of miracles. Seen with extreme power of God Himself.

The Essenes received visitors. And the Essenes wrote analysis of Bible accounts 

and their own understanding. 

In the Essenes writings is The Messianic Apocalypse (4Q521), has a list of miracles very similar to Luke 7:21–22, even though it was written approximately 150 years before Luke’s Gospel. And Matthew's.

How are such mighty works done by His Hands?

The city of Nazareth asked a question. And the persistence of Jesus is an important aspect of our Jesus and His Gospels.  This is a defining question today regarding the Life of Jesus. Jesus had options. John 12 records the Jewish Dispersion in Greece wanted Jesus to escape Herod and come with them to Greece. Jesus declined, even, to meet them. Jesus asked in the Garden of Gethsemane to allow God to change His Plans. And Jesus bowed to His Father's Will. Jesus knew He could call 12 Legions of Angels. More than the 1.5 stationed in Judea and Syria of the Roman garrisoned army. 

How are such mighty works done by His Hands?

Matthew 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said, 

“With man it is impossible, but not with God.

 For all things 

are possible 

with God."

Matthew 17:20 

 

“Truly I tell you, 

if you have faith 

as small as a mustard seed, 

you can say to this mountain, 

'Move from here to there,' 

and it will move. 

Nothing will be impossible for you.

Romans 12:2 

Do not be conformed to this world, 

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, 

that by testing 

you may discern what is the will of God, 

what is good and acceptable and perfect.

  

Proverbs 3:13 

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, 

and the one who gets understanding 

1 Corinthians 4:20

 

For the Kingdom of God does not consist in talk 

but in power.

Colossians 2:8

 

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy 

and empty deceit, according to human tradition, 

according to the elemental spirits of the world, 

and not according to Christ.

Romans 12:9,10

 

Let love be genuine. 

Abhor what is evil; 

hold fast to what is good. 

Love one another with brotherly affection. 

Outdo one another in showing honor. 

Abba, Father,

Abba,

In Your Word today,

the House of Jesus Christ

takes a beating in Nazareth.

The winds of mankind in Nazareth

are blowing fiercely.

Today, Texas faces Hurricane Beryl.

The Gulf Coast of Texas.

As much as mankind studies,

we do not tame the wind.

Mankind doesn't even do 

perfectly to predict the wind.

We ask of You

in the Name of Jesus Christ

for Your Mercy

and Protection.

We pray from Your Word:

Psalm 57

Be merciful to us, O God, be merciful to us, 

for in You 

my soul takes refuge; 

in the shadow of Your Wings 

I will take refuge, 

till the storms of destruction pass by. 

I cry out to God Most High, 

to God 

Who fulfills His Purpose for me.

Dwell in us, please, Father.

Dwell in those we Love.

Help us to seek You first.

In Jesus Christ, we will finish well.

To see

to bring

to be

more daily

Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done

on earth

as in Heaven

In Jesus Christ is 

Our Love, Joy and Hope.

Bless those working for

Post Pandemic Healing

and 

Care

with Faith, Hope and 

LOVE.

Thank You for Jesus.

To You, our Father, be the Glory

Our God is an Awesome God! 

Amen and Alleluia

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

†

YES Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus